AMHERST — A lawsuit alleging breach of contract and a looming foreclosure on its downtown building that could force one of Amherst’s longest-running businesses to close is prompting the creation of an online fundraiser aimed at saving Ren’s Sales and Service.
Customers, family and friends of Reynold Gladu, who has operated Ren’s since 1973, put together the GoFundMe appeal last week that looks to raise $125,000 to cover legal expenses and prevent the possible taking of the 161 North Pleasant St. site, should payment for the mortgage not be made by mid-September.
Within a day of its launch, the fundraiser, at https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-rens-motors-in-amherst-mass, was already nearly a quarter of the way to its goal.
Organized by residents Nancy deProsse, Bob DiCarlo and Lisa Musante, and Gladu’s daughter Jennifer Gladu-Howe, the appeal states the purpose is “to save Ren’s Motors — a small, family-owned and operated business whose future is in the hands of a major wholesale gas supplier.”
Specifically, the need for the money arises out of a decision made by Reynold Gladu and his son Jeff Gladu to end ties with Mobil and its supplier, Global Corp., due to the high price of gas in late spring. At the time, the Gladus turned to a relationship with Nouria that gives Ren’s the opportunity to sell Gulf brand gas for less.
But the new arrangement only came after breaking the contract through an escape clause achieved by not selling any gas for more than a week, and running the tanks dry, and then posting handwritten cardboard signs reading “out of gas” for a time over the summer. Ren’s survived through its service station, where oil changes and car repairs continued.
Ren’s is now facing both legal action, with Global contending there was a breach of contract, and if unable to settle could see a foreclosure and an auction of the property. Global has Ren’s property as collateral for a loan it provided for upgrades to the gas pumps in 2007.
Gladu-Howe furthered her appeal in a social media post that notes her father, 81, continues to work seven days a week, even after close to half a century.
“My father is a small business owner who has lived for his job, his customers and his hometown,” Gladu-Howe wrote. “He is now being penalized for trying to do the right thing by a major corporation who puts profits above people and despite his integrity, devotion and the lifelong relationships he has built in Amherst because of who he is as a person, he may lose everything.”
Those who have donated to the fundraiser express appreciation for what having Ren’s has meant for them and for the town.
Adrienne Terrizzi of Pondview Drive said she and her husband, Anthony, didn’t want to sit by and watch one of Amherst’s most valued businesses go into foreclosure, worried that big money interests might take what she refers to as a town treasure.
“None can surpass Ren’s longevity of service in this town as a continually locally owned and operated business serving residents, travelers and visitors to town events and tourist attractions alike,” Terrizzi said.
“Ren has been an Amherst institution for decades,” said Ken Rosenthal of Sunset Avenue. “Personal service was once common in most gas stations, but no longer.”
Ira Bryck of Strong Street also praised what Ren’s has meant to Amherst. “Like many people around Amherst, I appreciate how Ren’s gas and service station has been a cornerstone of our downtown, and Ren has been a friendly and reliable member of our business community,” Bryck said.
Debbie Palmer of Hadley said when she arrived in the Pioneer Valley in 1973, she recognized right away that Gladu offered similar qualities to her own father, who was an auto mechanic.
“I can’t imagine many other businesses in town who have provided the level of service and care that Ren has,” Palmer said.
The greetings customers received in a friendly manner while an employee fills the tank, does an oil check and washes the windshield, along with banter and even dogs always getting offered biscuits, is what makes Ren’s so appealing to Robin Jaffin of Montague Road.
“Ren and his family’s garage and gas station is an iconic representation of the best of who we have been and can continue to be if we fight for it,” Jaffin said. “To lose the one station where you can get both gas and community is a tragic and unacceptable outcome.”