Bordas opening own shop

For 28 years, Dana and Susan Borda's ARCO has been a fixture at Bath and Carson streets, fueling and servicing cars, taking care of customers from dawn to past dusk on weekends, holidays - every day.

In a few weeks, the couple who met in first grade in Minden will be moving out to open a new business they've worked toward for years - Dana Borda's Automotive.

"It's exciting to work toward a dream and have it come true," Susan said. "Some people work their whole lives toward a dream and die before they can make it come true."

But Borda has always had a special talent for working with cars, she said. As a kid he hung around the gas stations in Minden and Gardnerville so much that someone gave him job. He stuck with it, working for relatives Bert Borda and Dominick Oxoby at the Oxoby Chevron on South Carson Street.

Borda celebrated his twenty-third birthday while being trained by Richfield Oil to operate the franchise station he has run since.

"In that time, we've raised a lot of boys in that shop," Susan said about the young men who have worked there.

One former mechanic is a minister, another is training for the ministry and another works in Reno making dental appliances, she said.

A trip into the shop shows it's very clean and organized.

"My mother ran hotels and restaurants in Gardnerville," Borda said. "She taught me that every thing should be so clean you can eat off the floor, so I was raised that way. And it's easier to work when everything is clean."

Along the way, the Bordas raised their own children, two daughters. Beverly Ann Borda is box office manager at the Reno Hilton. Bonnie Borda Hoffecker is in Las Vegas, where her husband is a law student.

Dana Borda's Automotive, 1646 Hot Springs Road, will feature four large bays and 4,500 square feet of space, compared to about 1,000 feet at the ARCO location. The opening is expected Dec. 1.

Borda is already passing out a few business cards for the shop. The card shows a hot rod in the background, reflecting Borda's lifelong enthusiasm for fixing up older cars. Lined up behind his current shop recently were a Chevy 210 wagon, a Nash and a Thunderbird, all 1957 models, he said.

Moving with the Bordas are employees Kathi Houk, office manager, Mark Kuhlman, shop manager, and mechanic, Charlie Jones.

Many of their current and past employees are and have been related to each other, Susan said. There has been an assortment of brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins and uncles working at the ARCO throughout the years.

The future of the ARCO at Bath and Carson streets is uncertain.