Since he was old enough to walk and talk, Domenico Nigro has been helping out in the auto body shop his father founded in the 1980s. The business is in Nigro’s blood, and now as the company owner, he makes it his mission to make his father proud in the way he runs the auto shop that bears the family name.
“My father is my hero, and I want nothing more than to make him proud of me every day,” Nigro said. “When I graduated college in 1998 with a business management and real estate degree, I stepped right in at the body shop and have not left my desk since. Me and my father have worked side by side since then. We are building, growing, succeeding, learning and so much more together everyday.”
Nigro and his father worked for years on plans to expand and elevate Nigro’s Auto Body in Philadelphia, and the work is about to pay off. The changes include relocating to a bigger shop. There will be a common area for employees with space for meditation and yoga, more office space and bigger office furniture, a roof deck and a stocked refrigerator. The area where cars are serviced will be two levels, with room to work on and store more vehicles. There will also be a private lounge for customers, and the new shop’s location will be in a spot visible from I-95 and the Walt Whitman Bridge.
“The overall well-being, health, wealth, relationships and happiness of all my employees in all aspects of their lives is very important to me,” Nigro said. “I vow to always keep our cars safe and our customers happy, never compromise the integrity of a repair for profitability. Most importantly, my biggest concern and promise is to always keep Nigro’s name alive and my dad proud.”
Nigro said his greatest challenge was when his father was diagnosed with cancer, and Nigro had to step up and run the company.
“My roles and duties at work completely changed overnight and I was not yet prepared for that,” he said. “I was scared and nervous for so many reasons but I knew this was what I needed to do. I did what I needed to do to keep the business going and to make my dad happy and proud. I did my best to reassure my dad that everything was going to be OK and that he could focus on getting better.”
Nigro is a member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a peer-to-peer network for entrepreneurs, and the Union League. Both groups offer Nigro an opportunity to network, learn and grow as an entrepreneur. He is a graduate of Temple University.
Nigro contributes to the American Cancer Society, and his company donates to schools and sports teams in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.