The Heritage Auto story
After 13 years of loyal service at a local dealership, Clarence Baalhorn bought some of the equipment from the failing company and went out on his own. From 1957 to 1961 he operated Baalhorns Auto Service in a 900 square foot 2 bay shop behind his house in Boise, ID. He died in 1961 and his business closed, but he left behind a heritage that a grandson not yet born was destined to take up.
22 years later at the age of 16, that grandson, Tony Zanders, picked up the mantle of his grandfather and entered the auto repair industry as an eager apprentice. Trained by veteran technician and business owner Daryl Johnson of Boise, ID, Tony went on to attend Phoenix Institute of Technology. In 1988 he graduated 4th overall in his class with a 4.0 GPA and Dean’s Honor Award.
In the years that followed, Tony worked at a variety of automotive businesses as a technician and manager. In 1999 he took advantage of the good training he’d received and the relationships he had developed over the years and opened Heritage Automotive. This, by the way, was in a 900 square foot 2 bay shop behind his house in Meridian, ID. Since then, Tony has been awarded the regional NAPA/ASE Technician of the Year award for 2005, serves as a member of the NAPA Autocare National Advisory Counsel, the Meridian Traffic Safety Commission, and annually sponsors the Meridian Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. Most recently Heritage Auto Repair has been recognized with the "Brightest Star Award" for small businesses in Meridian.
Heritage Automotive has changed a little since 1999. Heritage Automotive has become Heritage Auto Repair and occupies a new 6000 square foot 8 bay shop in Meridian.
Clarence and Tony never met, but they share a common destiny of serving customers and friends with integrity, honesty, and old fashioned values. When asked how long Heritage Auto Repair has been in business, Tony responds,
“Since the turn of the century.”
Although that has only been a few short years, the “Heritage”
in our name has been around for a very long time.