EUGENE, Ore. – After more than 30 years, it’s just about the end of the road for Graffiti Alley.
Owner Bob White said that the local classic car and hot rod parts specialist will close its doors sometime this month, marking the end of a 32 year run. White, who will turn 75 soon, said he’d decided the time has come to retire, and so he plans on liquidating the business’s inventory and doing just that.
“I started this out of 600 square feet 32 years ago, up the street, and we had an opportunity to move in here and just blossomed to what it is,” White said. “I basically, uh, created a monster, and I’m trying to get away!”
White said he’d like to see the business live on and he’d consider selling it if anyone stepped up to purchase the name and continue its operations. The business would need to be relocated, however.
The automotive restoration parts market has become increasingly competitive in the digital age of Amazon and other online businesses. White said he’d never sold online and doesn’t advertise anymore. Previously, the River Road Cruise-In he’d promoted in the past served as his main source of advertising.
White has rented the building out to Eugene Electric Bicycles, which is located right next to Graffiti Alley on River Road. The latter company had been asking White about getting the location for a couple years, keen on the building’s space and its convenient next-door location.
