History
extracted from article written in Auto & Trim Restyling News
July 1998
When Hector Gongora retired from the military after 26 years, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. A warrant officer with some managerial experience, Gongora wasn’t about to let his organizational skills go to waste, so he decided to go into a partnership with an associate who had experience in the trim and upholstery industry.
“We just started the shop up from scratch,” Gongora says. “I called a few dealers in the area and they came with me, and we’ve built it up since then. We advertised the first six months and stopped. After that, it has been mostly word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business.”
Twenty-eight years and several trends later, Gongora and his son, Steve, co-own House of Covers, a centrally located “traditional” upholstery shop near historic Route 66 in Albuquerque, N.M. Steve Gongora attributes their success to his father’s “clean” initial approach, which stems from a non-journeyman background. Hector Gongora’s fresh set of eyes saw a future that eventually branched into a professional, solid focus on pure and simple business practices.
House of Covers staffs seven employees two of whom have been with House of Covers since 1982. Steve along with his wife Rita, and Jake Schlessinger manage the front office and sales. Rafael Molina, Juan Encinas, and Manny Sena are the backbone of the craft which shapes the company and its quality. Hector offers his smile and experience to maintain that identity which makes the business what it is today.
“What makes us different
from other shops is that we concentrate heavily on our final product,” Gongora
says. “This is a labor-intensive type of industry, and while it’s good to be
aware of what the other guy is doing, I think you need to spend the majority of
time minding your own store, which to me means having the best tools I can get
and the cleanest areas for my employees to work in.”
But whatever comes and goes and
comes back again, House of Covers’ attention will always be on the task at
hand and on the best and most efficient way of getting the job done. Even after
30 years, the view from the showroom, inventory room and garage is still the
same — a fresh perspective that is underlined with innate expertise.
"Joy Keller is associate editor of Auto Trim & Restyling News."
115 Richmond NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106-2125
phone (505)256-0551, fax (505)256-0555
e-mail - Steve Gongora - stevegongora@houseofcovers.com
Rita Gongora - rita@houseofcovers.com
Hector Gongora - hector@houseofcovers.com
Jake Schlessinger - jake@houseofcovers.com
Personal History - Steve Gongora has had a personal interest in Corvairs since the mid sixties when his cousin visited the family in his early model rear engine Corvair. The idea of the motor and its appearance was fascinating. He started driving one in 1970 and has been driving them ever since. A 1964 Corvair van has been Steve's daily driver since 1982.
For more information on our local Corvairs of New Mexico club click below for their website
