Kendall Threatt, owner of K Custom Wheels and Tires, at 23 W. Main St., opened his shop near the Ansonia train station in February.
Threatt lives in New Haven, works full time at Yale University as a night custodian.
But his passion — automotive accessories.
Valley Independent Sentinel: Talk about cars.
Threatt: Back in 2000 I started in a car club called Redliners. I became interested in cars – making them look nice, hooking them up … making them clean.
VIS: Clean?
Threatt: Detailing.
VIS: Your favorite car model?
Threatt: Acura.
VIS: Why?
Threatt: They’re good cars. They’re made by Honda, they’re not expensive to fix. They last a long time and they’re reliable.
VIS: What got you into rims? What’s so special about rims?
Threatt: I like what it does to a car. I like the way it looks when you put the rims on. It jumps out at you and catches your attention. Adds style.
VIS: Are you planning to run the store full time?
Threatt: Yes, but I’ll have someone work here while I still work at Yale at night. I eventually want to bring in another business with a friend. I want to bring in hats, jackets, urban designs. Just urban stuff. Hopefully something for everyone. However, right now we do other stuff beside sell rims. We detail, audio-electronics, remote starters, alarms, speakers, amps. We install them.
VIS: Did you get a small business loan?
Threatt: No, I started from the income from my job. I also just started a new car club called Street Alliance Auto Club of Connecticut. We’re interested in new members who are interested in hooking up their cars. You know what hooking up is right?
VIS: Uh …
Threatt: Adding systems, rims, tinted windows.
VIS: I thought tinted windows were illegal.
Threatt: Depending on percentage. You can get them tinted up to ten percent.
VIS: Anything else you want to say about yourself, your business?
Threatt: I’m doing this as a single guy. This is my passion. I love rims and tires. I like seeing the satisfaction on the face of someone when they are done.
