While in Las Vegas for the SEMA Show, I had an opportunity to get out of the busy halls and head over to Rick’s Restorations in Downtown. You may recognize the name from the hit History Channel show “American Restoration”
Rick and his crew recently moved their shop from his home about 15 miles north of town in the middle of nowhere to a large facility in downtown under the shadow of the Stratosphere tower. Rick came from a construction background, so he is renovating the structure to mimic that of his home a sort-of “Main St. USA” theme. The current season of the show is being filmed here at the new shop which is better suited to keep the restoration crew working while filming is being done. At his home, he would have to have the restoration work stopped while filming due to the noise. He also had to move, because the powers that be (OSHA) found out the type of work he was doing in the residential zoned area from watching the show. A by-product of fame.
Rick’s wife Kelly greeted me at the door then called out for Rick who gave me about 20 uninterrupted minutes in his office. We can all go to his website: RicksRestorations.com to learn of his story, but I wanted to find out more about his passions. He said that when he first got started with this business, rebuilding Coke machines, his passions were found in the accomplishments and of course the money to be made with his hard work. Today he gets a passionate jolt by the customers. Most people send in or come in with something they have had in their family for generations. Sometimes in pieces, sometimes in boxes, but they all say about the same thing: “My great-grandpappy brought this home from….” and through the ages it may have fallen in dis-repair. The pieces they bring come from an era where there was a “Pride of Manufacturing” here in America. And that’s what Rick instills on his employees.
I asked him about his crew. I suppose you get people coming at your door from all-over ’cause they see your show. When most businesses have a hard time finding good employees, you get them coming to you. He countered, saying that he gets a lot of people coming in, but it’s the guys he has picked up from the streets that are the best. They have a strong work ethic and pride in what they are doing and a willingness to learn new things. Guys like Kowboy who have been with him for over 15 years are the type of guys he looks up to in his business.
A strong work ethic has been in Rick’s blood since he was a child. He told me about when he was 9 years old and he wanted a bicycle. His buddies all had new shiney bikes and he wanted one too. His dad went out to the local scrap yard and picked up a beater of a bike and brought it home to him. He said son, you want a new bike, take this one apart, clean it up and put it back together again and you’ll have your new bike. He did just that. And, in a matter of a couple of weeks he was riding a bike that his friends now envied because HE built it, not just buying it off the shelf. Imagine if kids today were to do the same. Wow what a different world we’d live in.
Rick’s biggest fan Bret gave me the “Ultimate Tour” of the new shop. I was able take photos of the guys working and here I share them with you. Enjoy.