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Groundbreaking Held For Auto Body Shop Expansion

EAST LIBERTY (KDKA) ―

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A groundbreaking ceremony was held today for an expansion on an auto body shop in East Liberty where the owner has spent nearly 40 years changing people's lives.

Before construction gets started, business owner Mike Fiore was reflecting on his career in the auto body business.

"There was folks that started at a young age cleaning for me, sweeping," said Fiore, the owner of Mike's Auto Body. "Now they are in the office, they are assistants. Now they are coordinators. They distribute work. They help with the daily functions. They make sure that the payroll is done."

Now, with a looming expansion valued at nearly $2 million, Mike's Auto Body is about to ratchet things up a notch.

"It's in one of Pittsburgh's distressed neighborhoods, and for us to be investing millions of dollars in this neighborhood I think symbolizes how important we think neighborhoods and communities are - especially this one," said Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

The neighborhood has taken its lumps over the years, and yet Fiore says he's been there since 1970. And he will continue to be into the future.

The employees say the main reason for that is all about a feeling of family.

"Mike's like my dad - like my other dad," said Alex Carricato, who has worked at the auto body shop for 25 years. "He takes care of me and my family. It's just like home."

And the guys who work day-after-day, year-after-year in the shop say it's also about teaching their craft.

"Some kids do, some kids don't," said employee Bill Tedesco. "We've had a few kids come through the shop here that do want to work and learned quite a bit while they were here."