July 25, 2020

By Sandy Foster

Pat Herrington of Herrington Automotive knows cars. He has owned an automotive shop since 1978 when he bought Vee Village in downtown Kansas City.

Vee Village was an auto repair and parts store, and Pat owned the business until 1992. At that time, he sold Vee Village and moved to 201 Southeast Green Street in Lee’s Summit, where he opened Herrington Automotive.

Herrington Automotive could be found on the corner of Second and Green for nearly 27 years, providing full-service preventative maintenance and automotive repairs of all kinds. Now Pat gets the opportunity to open the doors to Herrington Automotive again. This time, the shop has moved and can be found at 1502 Southwest Market Street, which is also in Lee’s Summit.

“The City of Lee’s Summit approached us about six or seven years ago, asking if we would be interested in selling the building and lot,” Pat explained in a recent phone interview. “It took a while, but last December we came to an agreement and I started making plans to move the business. Our Mayor, Bill Baird, was instrumental in finally putting the deal together and he deserves some kudos for his doggedness.”

“When we agreed to sell,” Pat explained, “I had to find another location for Herrington Automotive. Fortunately, I saw some land with two buildings over on Market Street. It was all owned by the same people and we were able to come to an agreement in January 2020.”

“Everything started off really well but then COVID-19 hit. We kept on with planning, and then actually making the move, and thankfully, we got into our new location last month. All of this was done without my employees missing a day of work. I’ve got a great crew here. Great technicians and wonderful customers. I wanted the whole process to go as seamlessly as possible and I think for the most part that is what happened.”

Pat went on to explain that he has plans for the new location. “We’ve already installed a new asphalt parking lot, put new siding on the back building, repainted everything, and installed new overhead doors. I plan to put up the old building on the new land as well. There could be a fourth building constructed here sometime in the future,” he said.

But as of right now, family owned and operated Herrington Automotive is open in its new location, working on all makes and models of cars and trucks, just like always. They are always looking for new customers…individuals, businesses, or fleet accounts. You can contact Pat at the shop at (816) 525-4399. They are open Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 5:30. A grand reopening is planned for August.

On the lookout for a used vehicle? Pat also owns Herrington Auto Sales, located at 511 Northwest Blue Parkway, just south of Siki Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar. You can reach him there at (816) 282-9008 Monday through Saturday, 9:00 to 5:30.