Hop's has been around since the 1940s...

There is a fair chance that when you run into me, I’ll be wearing a “Hop’s Place” T-shirt.  I have a BUNCH of them.  My Step-Father has worked there for a long time, and gets me a shirt or two each year.  They have really cool street rods on the back, advertising their paint products.

Obviously, I’m not advocating everyone in Gwinnett County, GA run up to Hampton, VA to get some car parts…

But, Hop’s is a symbol of a dying breed, the independent auto parts store.  There just aren’t many left.  They are being pushed out by the chains even faster than the “Mom & Pop” retailers are being killed off by WalMart.

Hop died a few years ago.  He was well into his 80s.  When I was in high school… which is NOT recent… I used to buy parts from him for my cars.  He was “Old Man Hop” back then.  One of my Car Guy mentors knew him pretty well… and he was “Old Man Hop” to him, too.

There is nothing wrong with Pep Buy, AutoZone, Advance and the like.  I have done business with all of them.  But, I still like dropping into a place like Hop’s.  The guys on the counter have been there for 20 years… and might still be there 20 years from now.  Assuming that the shop is still there.

And I wouldn’t be shocked if there were some vintage speed parts lost in the backroom somewhere…