Owners of P-Town Auto & Offroad Nick and Gabrielle DiNunzio were grade school loves in Patagonia, Arizona decades ago. Their childhood love went to the wayside when they both went separate ways leaving Patagonia to find jobs as young adults. “We each left because there were no jobs, nothing was in Patagonia for us,” explains Gabrielle.
Years later they reconnected back in Tucson – Nick working remodeling jobs and Gabrielle working as the front office supervisor at the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute. One chance conversation about renting a garage space in Patagonia gave them an opportunity to return to their hometown and start an auto repair shop. Nick had been a mechanic his entire life and Gabrielle brought her business savvy to the shop. Those skills complemented each other when it came to opening P-Town Auto.
With an older population in Patagonia and no local auto repair shop, Gabrielle and Nick were able to help the community and build a local business – with one key customer being South32. “Having South32 here, along with the subcontractors on site, has really helped us grow. We now have several service contracts with companies on-site which has led to relationships with site workers who now bring us their personal vehicles for services and repairs as well,” Nick says.
“We’re doing great. The shop’s in the green, business is sustainable and we’ve kept things local by hiring two Patagonia High School graduates – Oskar Gomez and Nazario Herrera. Oskar completed the CTED program and Nazario is a UTI (automotive tech school) graduate so working in his chosen career. We’re thrilled to be back in our hometown close to our family and part of a growing community,” says Gabrielle.