Chamberlain Auto Parts and Sales, also known as CAPS, in La Grande, is open and ready for business Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Owners Derek and Claire Chamberlain bought the inventory from the closed Baxter Auto Parts on Adams Avenue and will be adding to the new store's offerings, located in the former Sears Building on Portland Avenue. 

For The Observer

LA GRANDE — The former Sears building on Portland Avenue has a new tenant.

Owners Derek and Claire Chamberlain, of Vale, have opened their business, CAPS of La Grande, also known as Chamberlain Auto Parts and Sales, at 1700 N. Portland Ave., La Grande.

On the front of their store, the signage prominently reads “Carquest Auto Parts,” which is their biggest supplier of inventory.

“Carquest is nationwide, and they have a fantastic warranty backing, so we use their sign on the front of our building,” Derek Chamberlain said.

The Chamberlains bought out the Baxter Auto Parts inventory from its closed store space on Adams Avenue and moved it into the former Sears location in mid-October. The new store is larger, offering 9,000 square feet of floor space.

“Carquest has been extremely helpful in this move,” Chamberlain said. “They brought their area reps from all over Oregon and Washington, and they spent the week moving stuff. I brought some of my other employees from other stores, so we had about 10 of us moving inventory for a week. Then we opened up for business Oct. 24.”

The new store location offers an additional 5,000 square feet for inventory compared to the former Baxter Auto Parts store. To fill that extra space, Chamberlain anticipates receiving a significant amount of inventory directly from manufacturers.

“Once that is in, we’ll get that situated,” he said. “Our signs are being built, and I hope to see those finished by the first part of December.”

Chamberlain anticipates a grand opening and barbecue event to happen next spring when it warms up again.

The CAPS of La Grande store is the Chamberlains’ fourth and most recent auto parts store.

“We have a store in Vale, which we opened in 2016, another in Ontario, which we opened in 2018, and a third store in Baker City, which opened in 2021,” he said. “We’ve been growing a store every 18 months to two years.”

Chamberlain said the auto parts stores weathered the pandemic fairly well, and it’s a stable industry to be in. While some new cars may be hard to get or afford, people are being forced to hang on to their used vehicles and maintain them. This is good news for owners like Chamberlain.

He comes into this business with a background in auto and truck mechanics.

“Before April 2016, when I opened my first store in Vale, I worked for eight years in the truck parts department for Kenworth trucks,” he said. “Prior to that, for four years, I worked as an auto mechanic.”

As a native of Eastern Oregon, Chamberlain said he’s very familiar with La Grande through high school league sports and shared FFA events. He likes the community and looks forward to getting to know and serve residents through his business.

“I grew up in Vale on my parent’s dairy farm, so my background is all agriculture,” he said. “Combined with my eight years with Kenworth, I’m pretty knowledgeable on the agriculture side. I know what farmers want and need, so we’re going to have a section of our business that caters to what they need.”

Consequently, Chamberlain said his store inventory will include truck brakes and shoes, cargo control, ratchet straps, rake teeth and bale steers among other items.

“That’s a little bit different mold than what NAPA or O’Reilly’s does,” he said. “Being an independent owner, I have the ability to buy from other vendors to bring in products I know will do well.”

CAPS of La Grande also carries DuPont paints for vehicles and farm equipment.

“We will have the paint mixing booth, paint supplies and equipment to set our customers up so they can paint their own vehicles,” he said. “It will be a big part of what we do here.”

Customers can rely on prompt deliveries of auto parts, Chamberlain added. He orders from a warehouse in Portland and receives next-day delivery on customer orders. In addition to parts, CAPS is also a dealer of DieHard batteries.

Chamberlain will be at the La Grande store three days each week for a while, so he invites residents to come in, meet him and see what CAPS has to offer. Charge accounts and deliveries are available upon request.