Ellington

When Chuck Giannunzio moved to Soddy-Daisy in the second grade he realized his passion for cars. With the recent opening of his Country Boys and Toys detailing service, he now washes cars across from where he worked washing dishes as a teenager at the former Carriage House Restaurant.

“My neighbor was working on a Camaro in Soddy-Daisy,” Giannunzio said, recalling what got him involved with cars. “I was just 8 years old but he put me in a sandblasting suit and I got to the places in the car that he could not. I’ve worked on cars ever since.”

Even though the shop focuses on detail work for cars, sports utility vehicles, trucks, boats and jet skis, Giannunzio also performs minor repairs such as swapping a battery, working on brakes and replacing alternators.

“The detail part came along,” he said. “I cleaned up one car and more and more showed up. Everyone likes a clean vehicle. A car is your second largest investment. You get a good value on your car at trade-in if you take care of it.”

He said he spends four to six hours detailing a vehicle with the help of his girlfriend, Michelle Carringer. They walk around the vehicle with the owner after the work is complete to show everything that was accomplished, according to Giannunzio. He said hand washing cars is a lot better than automated washes because a chip in the paint can get worse through a machine wash, but hand washing it won’t hurt it.

“Every car should have a good coat of wax twice a year, in the summer and the fall,” said Giannunzio. “When detailing we clean the tires and the fender wells. We wash and wax the outside. We get down into your vents and clean your dash. We clean your engine compartment, trunk and the headliners and all the interior gets shampooed.”

He said his mother, the late Theresa Reel who passed away recently from cancer, really inspired him to help others and to open the family business. He said he would like to expand the business to a larger location later, so he can pass it on to his family.

“I was tired of working for others, because some people respect you and some don’t,” said Giannunzio, who formerly worked in the electrical and construction fields. “I don’t want to get rich. I just want to make a living and get by.”

Aside from spending time with his children, Haven, Brandi and Justin, Giannunzio said he enjoys hunting, fishing and watching NASCAR in his spare time. The name Country Boys and Toys comes from his love of the country and his passion for driving rock crawlers, Jeeps, four wheelers, street bikes and boats in the outdoors.