LaFayette Collision under new ownership, ribbon cutting

By KADIE TAYLOR

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LAFAYETTE — LaFayette Main Street representatives, city officials and citizens gathered on Friday, March 27, to celebrate the reopening and new ownership of LaFayette Collision with a ribbon cutting.

“We are so excited to have you all with us and to be here together to celebrate the newest business in LaFayette,” LaFayette Main Street Executive Director DeAnna Hand said. “We just want to give you a warm welcome. LaFayette Main Street is honored to have you here doing business in LaFayette, and all of our community is really honored that you’re here. This is a famous shop, many of us remember it — but we are glad it’s back open. This service is desperately needed in LaFayette. We have fender benders, and a lot of people need this service — so we are very, very excited, and we wish you all the best. Just know, if there’s anything that LaFayette Main Street or the city of LaFayette can do to support you, we are just a phone call away. And we want to support y’all 100%, we’re excited for your family, excited for more people to get to know you and know your services.”

“Congratulations and welcome each and every one here this morning,” Mayor Kenneth Vines said. “Like [DeAnna], I don’t want to see you no time soon [because that would mean my car needs to be repaired]. I’d rather see you just out and about. I’ve already heard good work and [positive reviews about] stuff going on here, and again, congratulations. This is home for you now. Thank you for choosing the city of LaFayette.”

The ceremony was opened for other city officials and community members to share their excitement and congratulations for the opening of LaFayette Collision.

“I’m just happy to see another type of business coming forward,” one constituent said. “We have so many different areas where we can support our local economy here, and now, not having to drag my car all the way to Auburn or Valley to be able to have some work done is great.”

LaFayette Collision Owner Michael Kirby said he began working at LaFayette Collision the summer after high school, before he went to Southern Union Community College to complete a body shop course. After completing the course, Kirby said he moved to Auburn where he worked for most of his 28-year career.

Kirby said he is excited about reopening the shop where he began his career and growing in a community he calls home.

“Coming back home means a lot, because I went to school in Five Points and in LaFayette, so this is home — I know a lot of people around town,” he said. “It’s good to see everybody being supportive. There’s a lot of support around LaFayette. It’s crazy, I didn’t realize how much support we were going to have.”

For those who need car collision repairs, Kirby said to reach out and support LaFayette’s local car collision repair shop.

“They can give us a call, they can reach us through email or they can look us up on Google,” he said. “There’s another thing called carwise.com, so you can look us up on Carwise, and they can see reviews on Carwise, as well as on Google. But yeah, people can reach out any kind of way. We’re open five days, but we will usually open seven days — we’re here pretty much every day.”

LaFayette Collision is located at 208 1st St. SW., LaFayette. For more information, visit LaFayette Collision on Facebook or call (334) 864-7281.