Valentino’s is Grandview’s
‘Old-School’ Auto Repair Spot

Billy Boehm says a lot has changed over the past 36 years at Valentino’s Car Care in Grandview Heights. Carburetors have become fuel injectors, fuel pumps are now electric, and some cars today include six computers whereas no cars had any in the 1980s.

But he also says a lot hasn’t changed over the years.

“We’ve always tried to treat our clients like family,” he says. “We listen to their car problems and solve them. Our auto mechanics talk a lot with the clients on the phone, which is good because nothing gets misinterpreted. And we still do a lot of tires, a lot of brakes and a lot of suspension work — drivability problems.”

And there’s something else.

“We’re still very Old School,” Billy says, smiling. “We still do hand-written invoices. We still run the shop the way (former owner) Dennis (Valentino) ran it when the shop opened in 1985.”

The look of Valentino’s Grandview Heights auto repair shop has changed little over the years. The same green awning hangs from the building and the same, simple sign sits on the street with a new logo and marks the spot of one of the areas’ busiest garages. The parking lot sits full on any weekday with cars waiting to be worked on. A casual visitor to the shop often finds the phone ringing off the hook and a line of customers waiting to either drop off or pick up their vehicles.

Many are second and third-generation customers. Ron Cameron’s entire family has brought their cars to Valentino’s over the past 30 years, including all three of his children and their spouses. On a hot July day, he pulled his Subaru into Valentino’s parking lot with squeaky brakes and an impending 600-mile trip in two days. Billy promised they’d look at the car the next day and do everything to get it fixed in time.

“They do great work, I couldn’t be any more pleased with them over the years,” says Cameron, a lifelong Grandview resident and former Chamber of Commerce president. “I’ve referred so many people to them.”

Billy began working at Valentino’s Car Care in 1988 at the age of 17. He had known owner Dennis Valentino since he was a kid, ran into him at a Meijer store one day, and asked for a job. Dennis put Billy to work sweeping floors and cleaning the shop. Before long, Billy was changing tires, replacing brakes, and doing oil changes.

“I owe everything to Dennis,” Billy says.

Billy became interested in working on cars while hanging around with his grandfather as a bright-eyed kid. His grandfather, Bill Graham, operated five Sunoco stations on Columbus’ West Side at different times over a 40-year period before retiring in the early 1980s. The stations were full-service gas stations that included auto repair shops.

“It was a family business and a family tradition to work on cars,” says Boehm, whose family also has a long tradition of being entrepreneurs on the West Side.

Dennis Valentino retired in 2016 and sold Valentino’s Car Care to Billy. Billy continued to work on cars until he was slowed by a serious stroke on Aug. 1, 2019. The stroke left him with paralysis on much of his right side and his right leg in a permanent walking brace. Billy was off three months recovering, while his sister and office manager, Lori Hutchison, and mechanics Mark, Jason (Dennis’ nephew), and a returning Dennis Valentino kept the shop running smoothly.

“It made me very thankful for what I have and very thankful to own my own business where I could come back at my own pace,” Billy says. “And I’m glad for the support of family and friends. Lori, Mark, Jason, and Dennis really kept things going.”

Although he couldn’t turn a wrench anymore and had to give up his life’s passion as a boat owner, Billy quickly accepted the fact he had to live with a handicap and would have to run Valentino’s from the office.

“You’re always reevaluating your life and I decided I wanted to work in the office,” Billy says. “I want to be the first and last interaction with our customers, making sure to leave them satisfied and smiling.”