SHELBY – It helps to have a big personality if you are trying to make a living selling cars. Ralph Mahalak Jr., the owner of Buckeye Chrysler Dodge Jeep Grand Fiat Superstore of Shelby, has it in spades.
His store celebrated 20 years of business on Wednesday afternoon as a byproduct.
Mahalak took the red carpet rolled out in front of his dealership’s front door. Alongside city officials, dressed in suits, he donned a black, patterned button-up.
The sleeves were rolled to show a bright, explosive pattern and the top buttons were undone to highlight the LPK chain around his neck.
The three letters stand for “Low Payment King,” the moniker he adopted 32 years ago in Monroe, Mich.
“We have it all over,” Mahalak said. “We got it on our license plates … We have the Low Payment Kings logos on golf balls, koozies, coolers.
“People giggle about it a little bit, and that’s OK. You don’t have to take it too damn seriously.”
Mahalak’s persona screams that boring and buttoned-up isn’t ideal for business. When the time came to take the microphone before ribbon-cutting, he turned it into a stand-up comedy special.
“(My brother Mike) will tell you the worst place to be is between me and a microphone,” Mahalak said. “Put the 37-minute mark on your alarm. When I hit 37 minutes, slow me down, OK?”
Mahalak’s speech ended up taking only three and a half minutes, showering the crowd with thanks and stories of how the store came to be alongside his now-retired business partner, Steve Tetrick.
“We had zip, nothing. We had a raggedy old card table and chairs that we signed the deal on, and that was it,” Mahalak said. “I said, ‘Steve, what you get me into, baby? We got work to do, buddy.'”
The celebration came amidst a city-wide effort to revitalize Ohio 39, heading into Shelby.
“It has been impressive to witness the energy propelling the economic development on this stretch of Route 39,” Mayor Steve Shag said.
“Just think of the recent establishment of the Mickey’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, the repurposing of a portion of the Cornell’s IGA in process, Drug Mart’s proposed expansion of their grocery services just up the road and the plans of Mechanics Bank to build a brand new building here on this gateway to our fair city.
“This is one impressive building, and I think all of us who live in Shelby have been witnesses as we’ve come up and down the road to watch that progression of construction.”
Mahalak’s store is one of the first major plots when entering the city through Ohio 39. The building and massive lot of cars of a variety of makes and models draws the eye, but the personalities within help draw buyers inside.
