Levi Livingston had a great sale last week at NAPA Auto & Truck Parts on Valley Drive, with more than 200 customers coming in to find new tools and maybe a spare part or two. This is how he likes to see the store, but with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) road reconstruction on Valley Drive, peak days are less frequent, and days with a store full of customers are all the more welcome.
Livingston, the store manager for NAPA at 950 S. Valley Drive, knows the store is a hub for different mechanic and maintenance needs – and knows a sale still attracts customers! Because business has slowed during the NMDOT road reconstruction, the staff has been temporarily downsized, but it’s just until construction ends and the road is fully reopened.
“We’re locally owned, and one way we support our local economy is by hiring college students,” said Livingston, who got his start at the store several years before actually starting college. He continued to work at Napa while in college and says NAPA was good about working with his school schedule. Livingston explained that Keith Boyd, owner, wants to make sure the tradition of local hiring and local customers is evident in the store.
“We were a little worried about whether people would turn out for the sale,” he said, “but when customers did show up, it was good to be able to offer great deals. Of course, the free food helped too,” Livingston laughed.
If you want to stay informed about the developments on Valley Drive, NMDOT hosts a monthly meeting at Thomas Branigan Memorial Library upstairs in the Roadrunner Room. For details on the next meeting, visit www.valleydrive.net. For any immediate concerns, please contact Ryan Tafoya, project manager, at 575-418-7891.
The NMDOT Valley Drive road reconstruction project is scheduled for completion in early 2020; in the meantime, the City of Las Cruces encourages residents to continue supporting local businesses and stores on Valley Drive.