Founded in 1958 by Frank Pontieri, Pontieri Automotive continues to provide car owners in the GTA and surrounding areas with the best in automotive service and repair. Pontieri Automotive has been a highly recognized name in Toronto and Bolton for over 60 years. Automotive service and repair is Pontieri Automotives passion.
The automotive industry is always changing, but honesty, professionalism, and efficiency has continued to be a constant at Pontieri Automotive.
Pontieri’s move from Toronto to Bolton
The last customer in Tony Pontieri’s neighbourhood garage shop drove a black Honda Civic.
She had wanted a front licence plate put on her car, for which the dealer wanted to charge her an hourly rate. Pontieri did it free.
“I’m going to really miss you,” she told Pontieri, 49.
So will a lot of other customers. Independent garages in downtown Toronto are a rarity, and now one of the city’s oldest establishments is selling out for an undisclosed sum.
“It’s going to be tough leaving. I’ll really miss the customers,” said Pontieri, in shorts and a T-shirt, packing a skid as he prepared to move out by Monday. “This place is as old as I am.”
The Pontieri story is a familiar one. Toronto’s real estate boom has meant older, established businesses are cashing out to new development. Earlier this year, the iconic Addison on Bay Cadillac dealership closed its doors to make way for a condo.
“I’ve had people tell me they want to buy the place to start another garage. And I tell them, you must have too much money. You’ll never make back what you paid fixing cars.” The area has changed considerably from the time father Frank Pontieri opened the shop in 1958. “There were train tracks and hobos living in abandoned trains. Now I’m surrounded by million-dollar condos.”
Even the St. Lawrence Farmers’ Market next door has gone upscale. A sign outside advertises Organic Gourmet Tofu.
Pontieri figures at least half a dozen local garages have ceased to exist over the past decade. Downtown now belongs to “Canadian Tire and the dealerships,” he says. “It’s just too expensive to operate in the city for the little guy.”
The property has been purchased by Woodcliffe Corp., a heritage developer with major holdings in the St. Lawrence Market area, including the landmark Flatiron building.
Over the past several years, Woodcliffe has purchased the entire Market St. block where Pontieri’s is located, including the LCBO building at 87 Front St., going south to 8, 10 and 12 Market St.
Pontieri’s shop was the last piece of the puzzle. “It’s a … historic street, and we want to do something special,” said Woodcliffe executive vice-president Mitchell Cohen. “Right now, we’re not quite sure what we’re going to do. We’re at the doodling on napkins stage.”
One thing Pontieri won’t miss is the nightly ritual of jamming 15 cars on to his tiny lot.
Frank Pontieri didn’t have that problem when he started the business about the same time Pontieri Jr. was born. Pontieri has pictures of himself in the garage when he was 2. At the age of 8, he changed his first water pump in the garage, on a Oldsmobile Delta 88.
“I failed Grade 3 because I was always in the garage,” he said.
The garage, in its prime location never lacked customers. In later years, it became busy with fleet clients, including the Toronto Parking Authority and GO Transit.
Pontieri plans to be working in Bolton, where he resides. He already has a garage there that looks after his race car, a 1957 modified Chevrolet Bel-Air.
Earlier this week, a 6-year-old boy asked Pontieri for some air for his basketball. But the pump was already in Bolton.
“I felt terrible,” Pontieri says.
“In a way, it’s going to be good to get out of here. It’s just torture being here and moving stuff, but not being able to help anyone when they drive up.”