“Fords to Ferraris. Mercedes to mini-vans. We do everything from oil changes to engine changes for domestic and foreign autos and trucks. We repair, maintain, service, sell and store cars, including high-end classic, sports, and racing cars.
That is the proclamation of Woodbury couple Joe Riolo, co-owner with his wife Brenda Riolo, of the newly-created Route 63 Automotive at 1029 Main Street in Watertown created from their originally-founded independent Woodbury Automotive.
Beginning in November 2017, the Riolo’s began the process to physically close their Woodbury Automotive business in 660 square feet to renovate a 10,000 square foot full-service family-owned service garage in Watertown. “We built a service and repair center that is almost 20 times the size of our Woodbury business to provide the highly-personalized attention that owners can trust.
“At Route 63 Automotive, car owners can receive everything from factory-scheduled maintenance, general and electronic repairs, safety inspections, complete service and repairs, diagnostic scanning and suspension repairs to full fleet services and A/C repairs, to the purchase of all brands of tires.
“We specialize in sports and classic cars including sales, storage, and consignment.” Winner of some of the top amateur races in America, Joe Riolo is well-known for bringing his passion for racing and maintaining fine-tuned race, classic and high-end specialty cars to his business.
“My excitement for racing for the past 30 years started with my father who used to drag race. For three years between 1987 and 1990, I drag raced all across New York and Connecticut including Lebanon Valley and Englishtown. From there I went to NASCAR for 10 years starting with Street Stocks and late models, to pro-stocks, modified and Busch Grand National which is now the Xfinity Series. Throughout the 10 years, I raced with many nationally-famous racers.
“For the past 17 years, I have been fully enjoying vintage road racing all across the United States with podium finishes at Daytona Sebring, VIR, Summit Point, Watkins Glen, NHIS, Lime Rock, Pocono and Thompson Speedways.”
Al Riolo was the inspiration for Joe Riolo’s unmistakable enthusiasm for cars. “Since I was age 7, I worked in all the service garages my Dad owned in Danbury. As an adult, I was a police officer for the City of Danbury for 20 years all the while racing and collecting cars. After retiring from the police force, I opened a car repair service in Woodbury. As my reputation for good, honest and trustworthy service grew, I opened Woodbury Automotive at the north end of the Town of Woodbury.
“We spent those years establishing and growing the business while raising our three children. For us, Woodbury Automotive was a ‘stepping stone’ while we looked for a larger building where we could offer a full range of repair and maintenance car services which we have now created in Watertown.”
Services that Route 63 Automotive also offers include axle, CV joint and driveshaft repair, brake repairs, climate control and cooling systems repairs, exhaust system repairs, electrical systems repairs, steering and suspension systems repairs, transmission repair, and tire services.
Route 63 Automotive boasts of being a ‘green shop’ in that they recycle all waste oil into providing heat for their service bays and installed LED lighting throughout the building. In addition to the prestigious and highly-respected reputation of Woodbury Automotive and Joe Riolo (left) and co-owner Brenda Riolo, the newly-relocated business also offers the skills of two certified technicians, John Lupone, an auto electronics specialist and technician for the past 15 years, and Ekrem Vait, a 27-year master technician. “We are looking to hire two more technicians,” eagerly added Joe Riolo.
Doors to Route 63 Automotive officially opened in mid-February, and the Riolo’s have already established collaborations with several Watertown businesses. Those connections include work with Carlquist Competition Engines which does all of Route 63’s machine work, Import Auto Sales for which Route 63 Automotive services and preps their used car inventory, plus DNR Labs for which the shop maintains and services their fleet of Sprinter diesel trucks.
Future plans for Route 63 Automotive include offering morning Cars ‘n Coffee get-togethers or Cruise Nights that will be open to the community. “What we really want to convey,” stated Joe Riolo, “is that we offer honesty and integrity in all our services and products. As an independent shop, we are directly responsible to every customer we serve. As a family-owned business, we offer what we do as if we are doing it all for the Lord.
“We do not cut corners. Any car or truck will be a safe car when we are finished with it because our goal is to bring integrity back into this industry. We are striving to offer our customers the dealership quality and facilities, coupled with the personal relationships of working with a family-owned business.”
Located at 1029 Main Street in Watertown, Route 63 Automotive can be contacted at 203-217-0181 or via rte63auto@gmail.com or www.Route63Automotive.com.