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When any business—auto body shop or otherwise—lasts 75 years and is still going strong, that’s surely something to celebrate.

And that is exactly what the owners of Bistagne Bros. Body Shop in Glendale, CA, did when they threw a major bash to commemorate its 75-year anniversary at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Dec. 10.

Rated by CNN, Octane and Top Gear as “the world’s greatest automotive museum,” the Peterson was the ideal setting for the 300plus people in attendance.

How does an auto body shop survive for 75 years in an industry that has changed in so many ways? Chuck Bistagne has seen it all, as part of the company’s second generation.

“It started with our love of cars and grew from there,” he said. “When you’re in a family business, it means more, and having our name on the sign out front means a lot.”

The shop’s iconic sign is now a landmark in Glendale, even though it confuses people sometimes.

“They think it’s a restaurant because of the sign, and we have actually gotten customers who discovered us that way,” Chuck Bistagne said.

Bistagne Bros. Body Shop was founded in 1946 by brothers Tom and George Bistagne. After their service in the military during World War II, the brothers rented a tiny shop the size of a small studio apartment in Glendale, where they performed collision repair and custom work.

Two years later, the business expanded, and the brothers purchased the parcel of land where the business has been for the last 75 years.

When the brothers opened their doors, DRPs did not exist, aluminum was found primarily in beer cans and computers were down the street at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but surely not in cars yet.

The 1970s saw the second-generation of Bistagne brothers—Tom Bistagne’s sons—join the company, with Bob Bistagne joining the team in 1975 and Chuck in 1977.

In 1999, an adjacent gas station was purchased and construction was started on expanding the business to encompass the entire southeast corner of the intersection. The new office headquarters opened in 2000.

In 2003, Bistagne Bros. saw its third-generation, Robert Bistagne—Bob’s son—enter into shop management.

Today, each customer who comes through the doors will be greeted by one or more generations of Bistagnes.

Chuck Bistagne, 66, is proud of what his family has achieved and still loves working in the collision repair industry.

“We’ve been blessed with

our longevity,” he said. “My late brother Bob and I were primed to take over the business back in the late 1970s when the industry was changing at a rapid rate. I remember when we went to San Francisco to meet with the first chief of the Bu-

The Bistagnes produced a book to commemorate their 75 years of fixing people’s cars in Glendale, CA, since 1946�

From left, Chuck Bistagne, Brian Bistagne and Robert Bistagne hosted a 75-year anniversary soiree at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles�

See Bistagne Bros., Page 41

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