In the nondescript red building at 102 Stoner Ave., the aromas of coffee and gasoline mix in the morning air. In the back room of Kitchen’s Auto Repair, a group of men sit in a u-shape of mismatched chairs and a faded red church pew facing a small wall-mounted TV. Weathered Chilton auto repair manuals dating back through decades stand dust-covered on the bookshelves that line the walls of the room. The morning meeting of Kitchen's Auto’s “Board of Directors” is officially in session.
For the past 10 years, a group of 6-10 men have gathered each weekday morning at the small auto repair shop near downtown Paris where they talk about everything from world events to local gossip. Kitchen’s Auto has been around for more than 40 years, started by Vietnam veteran and auto repairman Raymond Kitchen. Raymond works alongside his son Jeff, grandson Tyler, and longtime friend Bobby Dryden.
People trickle in throughout the morning, grabbing a cup of coffee and maybe a donut if someone’s brought them in, before finding a seat in the small back room. Aside from Raymond and Jeff, the members of the group include a retired state trooper, a roofer, several Vietnam veterans, a retired truck driver and a smattering of others who come and go throughout the week. Ricky Tubbs, a Vietnam veteran, is one member who comes every morning. Ricky started coming several years ago after bringing a truck in for repair and has since spent his weekday mornings sipping coffee with the rest of the Kitchen's Auto crew. “Just kept coming back,” he says.
The gatherings started slowly, Raymond says. They began informally when he owned a service station in downtown Paris. “There was always at least one (person), but in the last 10 years it’s been this every morning,” says Jeff with a nod toward the rest of the men chatting in the room. Once Kitchen’s Auto moved into its current location on Stoner Avenue in 1990, more and more men started joining the morning meetings.
The community has been good for his father, Jeff says, especially since the passing of his wife, Rosemary, in 2018. “It keeps him busy, keeps him moving,” Jeff says about the morning meeting group and the cars that come in for repair.
The same can be said for the rest of the “Board.” For many of the men, the community in Kitchen’s Auto gives them a connection that was lost after retirement. Wayne Wagoner retired three years ago from truck driving. “I wasn’t doing anything in the mornings so I started coming here,” he says. Wayne often stays past the usual end of the gathering at 9 a.m., joking and laughing with Raymond, Jeff and Bobby as they work.
At 78, Raymond still gets up every morning to open the shop and work on the steady stream of cars that are brought in for repairs. Perhaps more importantly, though, is to spend time with the other members of the community he has helped create. The men who gather at Kitchen’s have created a community where they offer each member of the "Board" a sense of connection and support – and a healthy amount of teasing.
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