Kragen Auto Parts to move, change name

Brian Wilkinson

(Updated: Thursday, February 18, 2010, 12:00 AM)

Kragen Auto Parts will almost double in size when the store, located in the Vons Shopping Center, moves up the street to the building once occupied by True Value Hardware.

The new location at 40088 Highway 49 is expected to open the first week in March with a new name -- O'Reilly Auto Parts.

The new location provides 11,200 square feet of retail display and stock space. The current location is 6,200 square feet. The renovation of the old True Value store has taken about two months.

O'Reilly Automotive, headquartered in Springfield, Mo., acquired CSK Auto Corporation in 2008. CSK operated 1,349 stores in 22 states under the brand names Kragen, Checker Auto Parts, Schuck's Auto Supply and Murray's Discount Auto Stores.

O'Reilly, well-known in the midwest and southeast, now owns 3,200 stores across the United States with 480 in California.

O'Reilly is one of the largest specialty retailers of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment and accessories in the United States. Founded in 1957, the company operated 1,830 stores prior to the merger with Kragen.

The average O'Reilly auto parts store carries about 22,000 different items.

Manager Paul Feuerstein, a graduate of Sierra High School, opened the Oakhurst Kragen store in 1994 and is looking forward to the move to the expanded store. "We're going to have a lot more items in stock. The new store is going to be awesome," said Feuerstein.

The store has 13 employees. Store hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.