Christian Brothers Automotive Coming To Avon

AVON, OH - Christian Brothers Automotive is moving into Avon. The auto maintenance company will see a franchise opening at 1110 Nagel Road on May 15. A grand opening event will be held sometime in late June.

The company is coming to the city thanks to Kevin Kaschube and his passion for the automotive industry. A resident of Avon Lake, Kaschube has spent most of his adult life working on cars or helping design them.

Kaschube's shop will initially employ two technicians and one service manager, meaning there will be four employees on-site, including Kaschube. By mid-summer, he hopes to add another technician.

Kaschube started his career by attending Ohio Technical College and studying Automotive and Diesel Technology. From there he went into BMW's technician training program, spending seven months learning how to be a master technician.

While working near Rochester, New York, Kaschube enrolled in a local community college and started working toward his electrical engineering degree. He vowed that if he got through all of his math courses in Rochester, then he would quit his job and attend school full-time.

And Kaschube nailed his math courses. So he quit his job, moved to Columbus, and enrolled at the Ohio State University. When he graduated from OSU, he was offered an internship with BMW North America in New Jersey, a dream gig.

But a strange thing happened after he started working his dream job. He realized that a job is still a job and he didn't have the work-life balance he craved. The cost of living near New York City was extremely high. He wanted to spend more time with his wife and with his children. He missed his hometown.

Originally from Parma, Kaschube and his family moved back to Cleveland in 2011. He took a job as an engineer at a steel mill and the company paid for him to get his MBA from Baldwin-Wallace.

As part of his final project, Kaschube had to create a business plan for a hypothetical business. He drew up plans for an automotive maintenance shop. His plan was so impressive that several of his professors urged him to get serious about it and take the shop from sketch to reality.

"While I was doing market research I learned more about Christian Brothers in 2014. I started talking to them and learned about some of the resources in Cleveland for starting my own company," he told Patch.

"Their business model was appealing. They do full-level automotive repair. They have factory scan skills. They can do engine repair, reprogramming, I wanted something to do all automotive repair and not have to sublet to dealers. We heavily invest in the tools," he said, explaining why he chose Christian Brothers.

That year, 2014, he signed paperwork to bring the company into the Cleveland area. It took about 2.5 years to do all the site research and then find and purchase the land. A long process that led Kaschube to Avon, a community down the street from his house.

"It’s a small community feel but it’s growing a lot. It still has aspects of everyone knowing everyone. Community is important in Avon. With the growth that’s going, it’s those two things. It’s a strong family community. It’s a lot of families," he told Patch. "That’s where I wanted to raise my family. We live in Avon Lake. We live close by the shop."

Photos from Kevin Kaschube