PRESQUE ISLE — One of Aroostook County’s longtime independent auto parts retailers is now a part of NAPA Auto Parts, as the family-owned business makes a transition.
Clukey’s Auto Supply, a network of stores in Houlton, Presque Isle and Caribou, has been sold to Genuine Parts Company-NAPA Auto Parts, effective Nov 1.
“I have reached the point in my life when I must make a change in direction in order to undertake new challenges,” wrote Gail Clukey in a letter to customers, outlining the decision to sell the business founded by her late husband Tom in 1984.
“My departure from Clukey’s Auto Supply is bittersweet,” she said but “the company will move forward. My sadness in leaving, however, is tempered by the knowledge that the same friendly and courteous employees at Clukey’s Auto Supply will continue to be able to provide the same quality of parts and services that (customers) have come to expect.”
Tom Clukey opened the first store in Presque Isle in 1984, after running other auto service stores and taking a brief stint in Boston. He later expanded the Clukey’s business to Houlton and Caribou, competing with other auto parts companies, and passed away in 2013 at the age of 59.
NAPA Auto Parts, a part of Atlanta-based GPC conglomerate, will run the stores under the Clukey name with the same employees, Clukey said.
