Pep Boys closing leaves gaping business 
hole in Forest Park gateway

By ERIC LINDEN

The Pep Boys business in Forest Park massive by the village's standards
has closed on the northwest corner of Washington and Harlem across from
Oak Park.

The closing of the Forest Park Pep Boys technically a chain named
"Manny, Moe and Jack: The Pep Boys"--came Oct. 30 as the
Philadelphia-based automotive products chain, the nation's largest,
moved to increase profits by closing "38 unprofitable stores and two
distribution centers," the company announced. The company also announced
it made the moves to "significantly reduce the company's infrastructure
and operating expenses."

The departure leaves a gaping vacancy on a gateway corner of Forest Park
and on Oak Park's western border. With a building still under
construction on vacant land north of the former Pep Boys building,
Forest Park commercial space is now vacant in the area bounded by Harlem
Avenue, Randolph Street, Washington Boulevard and the north-south alley
to the west of Harlem. Prospects for new development or business were
not immediately known.

Pep Boys moved in to the site formerly occupied by F&M Distributors, a
pharmacy on the order of a large Walgreens store, and left on Oct. 30. A
hand-written sign on the window of the Forest Park building refers
customers to shop at the Pep Boys store at 6812 W. Grand on the edge of
the Galewood neighborhood in Chicago to the north of Oak Park.

Pep Boys also has locations near Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park
at 900 Broadview Village Square at Cermak Road and 17th Avenue in
Broadview, 2501 S. Cicero Ave. in Cicero and 2600 North Ave. in Melrose
Park. After reaction to its closing of stores, the company issued a
follow-up announcement saying that no more stores or distribution
centers would be closed.

"The company is generally pleased with the performance of its remaining
627 stores and does not contemplate closing any additional stores in the
near future," Pep Boys' announcement maintained.

By coincidence, one of the stores also closed was in Oak Park, Mich., a
suburb of Detroit. The closings last week left Pep Boys operating 627
stores and 6,486 service bays in 36 states and Puerto Rico. The
company's size was steady at a smaller level until an aggressive
expansion program began in 1986. Since then, Pep Boys had been enjoying
great growth, so last week's layoffs were surprising.

The lay-off program, called the "Pep Boys Profit Enhancement Plan,"
resulted in the elimination of approximately 1,200 jobs. The plan also
included a reduction in the number of field and distribution center
supervisors and the consolidation of the store support centers, which
resulted in the elimination of approximately 300 other positions. In
addition, the company        modified its stores' management structure
and changed store hours with a goal of responding better to customer
demand.

Pep Boys estimated that pre-tax benefit of these initiatives is
approximately $70 million. the company's third-quarter results will be
reported Nov. 10 and will reflect the store closings. Company officials
said Pep Boys also expects to generate approximately $50 million from
the sale of the retired assets, presumably including the property in
Forest Park.

Pep Boys started in 1921 by Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld, Maurice "Moe"
Strauss and W. Graham "Jack" Jackson, who grew Pep Boys: Manny, Moe and
Jack into a billion-dollar business. The car-parts and car-care business
became Pep Boys  in 1923.

The business began using Pep Boys when a Philadelphia police officer who
worked near the company's first store advised motorists he stopped for
not having an oil wick burning to go see the "boys" at Pep to find a
replacement. Common usage eventually saw use of the name Pep Boys.

Then when Strauss, who died in 1982, visited California in 1923, he
observed how many successful businesses used owners' first names, and he
commissioned a friend to create the three big caricatures of "Manny, Moe
and Jack" that are still in use today--just not in Forest Park.