We were lucky to catch up with Michael Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Michael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Please gleen the following information from what I’ve attached below.

The history and heritage of Gasoline Alley Classics

While working for Hershey Foods Corp. in the 1990s, Michael Jones often joined his
uncle Larry Dunn in his garage to play around with their metalworking tools. Building
playthings for their family led the duo to create household décor and other collectibles
celebrating America’s automotive history.
“It started as a hobby,” Jones said, a car enthusiast since high school, “but the more
we created, the more we wanted to do this as a business. And I knew where I wanted
to do it – on Route 66.”
Their break came when Street Rodder magazine featured a pair of hot-rod strollers
Jones made in 1994 for his then-infant sons. That’s when Jones began Gasoline Alley
Classics Inc. out of his garage. In 2006, Jones left his food sales career to buy powdercoating
equipment with his uncle, who died seven years later. This moved into an
industrial park warehouse where they could make and sell their metal signs, add
powder-coating services, and work to expand their automobilia product lines.
While his business grew steadily, Jones needed years to identify the right home for his
first retail shop. That came in 2015 when Jones and his family bought a building raised
in 1917 to house the Sapulpa Motor Co. Ford Model T assembly plant and dealership.
Seven years of hands-on restoration efforts by Jones and his family allowed the
entrepreneurs to open Gasoline Alley Classics’ retail home on Sept. 9, 2022. It
occupies roughly half of the 9,000-square-foot building, which sits a half-block north of
Route 66. He uses the other half for production and his powder-coating business.

Gasoline Alley Classics has several connections to Route 66 and Sapulpa, OK, which Route
66 runs through. First, this business was born of a hobby celebrating automotive lore.
Second, it occupies a 108-year-old structure steeped in such lore, which Gasoline Alley
Classics owner Michael Jones has worked a decade to preserve and restore. Third, although
Jones still has a few years of work ahead, his store has already become a Sapulpa anchor
and national Route 66 icon.
While working for Hershey Foods Corp. in the 1990s, Michael Jones often joined with his
uncle Larry Dunn in his garage metalworking experiments. Building playthings for their families
led the duo to create auto-inspired household décor and related collectibles. Their first
breakthrough came when Street Rodder magazine featured a pair of hot-rod strollers Jones
made in 1994 for his then-infant sons. That spurred him to register Gasoline Alley Classics
Inc. In 2006, Jones left his food sales career to buy powder-coating equipment with his uncle.
Following Dunn’s 2013 death, Jones moved his operations to an industrial park where he
could make and sell automotive memorabilia product lines and add powder-coating services.
That’s when he started looking for an iconic Route 66 spot for his retail home. He found that
in a 108-year-old brick building at 24 N. Main St., which sits on the north side of the Mother
Road’s historic downtown Sapulpa path.

That 9,000-square-foot building opened in 1917 as the Sapulpa Motor Co. Ford Model T
assembly plant and dealership. That operation survived until 1927, when the Model T went
out of production, but the site continued its extensive automotive history. In 1929 the Mack
Motor Co. opened there, selling large trucks in the early days of the national trucking sector.
Ray Martin Motor Co. took over the site in 1955 to house Ray Martin DeSoto/Plymouth. In the
1980s the building – little changed from its Ford debut – became home to Quality Tire Inc.,
followed by Williams Auto and Trailer Sales and its related businesses. Jones acquired the site
in 2015 to serve as his retail store, warehouse, and workshop. That’s when he discovered the
full extent of its backlogged maintenance needs.
“Through its history, very little had been done to maintain the building,” said Jones. “We had
to completely replace the electrical system and the plumbing. I had to strip down the floors
and walls, put in new finishes, and replace all the front windows. It took quite an effort just to
make it workable, and there’s still more to do.”
Seven years of hands-on restoration efforts by Jones and his family allowed Gasoline Alley
Classics to open its new home on Sept. 9, 2022. Its stylish interior occupies roughly half of
the building. Jones uses the other half for production and his powder-coating business.
“We discovered some hidden treasures,” said Jones. “The original double doors were hidden
and covered up, although their glass panes were missing. And the original transom window
was covered up. We restored these and added insulated glass to the doors.”
Jones also endowed the interior with numerous unique interior design fixtures. These include:

other antiques.
• Parts of old cars and trucks installed as wall fixtures or ceiling decorations.
• Wood floors with stained graphics depicting the classic Route 66 shield and all eight states
the highway winds through.
• Two restored Model Ts, window centerpieces positioned in the style of the 1917 dealership.
With its debut, Gasoline Alley Classics established itself as a national Route 66 attraction. In
its first year, the colorful shop drew customers from 40+ states and 21 countries. Guests
marveled at its amazing product displays, engaging floor directions, and wall-to-wall
memorabilia.
“There’s no other store on Route 66 like this,” said Jones. “Just after we opened, Automobilia
Magazine featured our restrooms in their November/December 2022 issue. They were blown
away at the attention to detail the decor demonstrates. Many of our customers voice the
same thing today. It has that wow factor!”

Michael, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m sharing what I’ve written before below.

What problem does our business solve and who is our most ideal client?

Gasoline Alley Classics’ 24 N. Main St. shop fills a sentimental Route 66 void. “I’ve
always wanted a shop on the Mother Road,” said “Chief Everything Officer” Michael
Jones. “We’ve traveled Route 66 in both directions in our classic cars, and I’d never
seen anything like this on that highway – a store offering game room, garage, and man
cave décor that celebrate what Route 66 means to American history.”
His ideal customer shares his love of automobilia. “You can have your car guy working
on cars in his garage,” said Jones. “He likes automobilia décor, so he can appreciate
what we manufacture. That guy might have car parts to powder coat or need signage
for a shop. Or he may have friends needing these things. These are the kind of guys
that love Route 66 and cruise it whenever they can.”

How did you come up with the name for your company and how is it demonstrated on your brand logo and marketing efforts?

The Gasoline Alley Classics name was a collaboration between Michael Jones and his
uncle, Larry Dunn. “We first named the business Gasoline Alley, for we liked oil and gas
memorabilia,” said Jones. “My grandfather Loren ran the Sinclair gas station in my
hometown, which shows how that runs in our family. In fact, I have his old gas pumps
in our store! When we registered the name with the state, we added the word Classics.
And there it is. It’s our trademarked logo.”
Jones reached out to friend and graphic designer Mick Thurber to develop their logo.
“He made several renderings, which were all very nice,” said Jones. “The one that we
ended up using was a fast pencil sketch. I told him I wanted something industrial, with
a gas pump and a patina look. We took that pencil sketch and added the cogwheel to
gain what we use today. It represents all three of our services, it has Route 66 in the
shield, it has the year established… it has everything! And we use it on everything – our
merchandise, hang tags, social media. It’s even on the floor as you enter the
restrooms!”

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

“In truth, we didn’t have a business plan,” said Jones. “We used our own cash. I used
my 401k and profit-sharing funds from Hershey. That’s one reason it took us seven
years to renovate our building. My family and I did much of the work ourselves, and we
funded it from our cash flow.”

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

When we traveled Route 66 we saw what wasn’t on Route 66 and that’s what we wanted to create and have.

What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish that culture? How do you maintain it?

Jones grew up fascinated by America’s automobile culture, instilled by a grandfather
and uncle who collected classic cars and worked in that industry. Jones passed this
enthusiasm down to his family, as demonstrated by the “hot-rod” strollers he made for
his kids that caught the eye of Street Rodder magazine. Several family members aided
him in launching Gasoline Alley Classics and continue to work with him when available,
maintaining that cultural spirit and their beloved automotive memories.
That culture grows through the shop’s location near Route 66. In its first year, the store
guestbook drew signatures from people living in 48 states and 50+ countries. All found
Gasoline Alley Classics while touring that historic highway.
That culture thrives in the store layout, which displays automotive memorabilia from the
ceiling to its custom floor and bathrooms. The culture also lives in the Gasoline Alley
Classics products, which has ranged from oil cans, parking meters, and drive-in
speakers to custom lighting, apparel, Route 66 accessories, gifts, and souvenirs.

“One of the things I love seeing in people when they walk in the store is how their faces
come alive,” said Jones. “Everyone who looks at these things will recall some
cherished moments. I had a lady who came in, saw the Pepsi sign, and started crying,
for her father had worked for Pepsi. That’s what Gasoline Alley Classics does, what our
products do. They help people relive beloved memories.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gasolinealleyclassicsinc.com/
• Instagram: Gasoline Alley Classics, Inc.
• Facebook: Gasoline Alley Classics

Image Credits

Photo credits provided by Michael Jones – Gasoline Alley Classics