Who's Who in Benicia: John Walsh

How long have you lived in Benicia? Since 1986, when I bought my first house here.

How did you end up here? We lived in Glen Cove and were driving our young children to St. Dominic's school every day and just fell in love with Benicia.

Where are you from? I grew up in New York. I'm an East Coaster but have been out here for many, many years so the accent is gone.

What do you do? I've worked in the retail car business since 1982 in California. I worked for Avery Green for seven years in the late '80's. In 1995, I opened . I've been in the same location for 16 years. I specialize in kids cars... first cars for teenagers.

Where is your business? I'm really out of the way, in the old Command Post in the Arsenal on the street below Adams. If I had a dollar for everybody who said I didn't know there was a car lot in Benicia, I could retire.

Do you participate in community activities? I raised my kids in town so many people know me from youth baseball, Little League and Babe Ruth. I am involved in and . I'm a tried and true Benician.

How old are your kids? My daughter is 32, my son 30 and my youngest son is 29. He's an Air Force brat in Vallejo. I'm a proud father of a Air Force vet, still serving the country. He's been in Iraq twice and Kuwait once. He married his high-school sweetheart and now they are pregnant. Johnny, Jackie and Matt Walsh are pretty well known in town.

What are your favorite hangouts? I used to hang out at the marina when I had a boat. Now, I'm at the  First Street gym five days a week and I go to Pappas and . At Starbucks, everybody has a name. I'm car guy, because I drive up in a different car with numbers on the windshield.

What do you love about Benicia? It has small-town feel with a friendly environment, yet you are 30-40 minutes from lots of different things: airports, major league sports ... yet when you are in Benicia, you don't feel like you are that close.