In the big controversy last year when two developers gave tens of thousands of dollars to Council members in return for special privileges never granted to any other developers, one group of people suffered in silence. When thousands of people protested the Brookfield Homes and their tandem garages, a few dozen workers carried on.
Elite Automotive Services was a thriving business located in the Auto Centre Drive, and when Brookfield and Trumark took over, their days were numbered. Elite was not merely another business in Lake Forest, it’s a Lake Forest business. Two of the three owners are residents and most of the workers are residents. So being thrown out of their Lake Forest address came as a big blow, and the prospects of re-locating to Costa Mesa (where there was a comparable property that was ready to move in, and at a very good price) were not attractive.
“We’re a Lake Forest business” said Ziad Traieh, one of the owners who lives in Lake 1. “Our customers are from Lake Forest and most of our workers are from Lake Forest. We wanted to stay here if we could.”
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Elite got some help from Mayor Pro Tem Adam Nick and from the City staff. In fact, the company that was evicting them, Trumark, stepped up to the plate and offered a generous financial assistance package to make the transition less painful. Pretty soon they found a space that with a little work (and a bunch of money) could be adapted to suit their needs, and it was less than a mile from their old location.
Fast forward a few months and Elite Automotive Services is back in business, barely missing a beat. Business was down a little at first as can be expected when you move, but Eddie Yau, another one of their owners, says “We are already doing better than ever. In fact, we’re hiring.”
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Elite is happy to be staying in Lake Forest. If you come in to their office and mention “The Patch article” they’ll give you a 10% discount on any repair, and if all you want is an oil change, they’ll do it for $14.95.
Elite is at 26801 Vista Terrace. That’s on the corner of Lake Forest Drive and Vista Terrace, just West of Home Depot. Click here for their website.
