Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
Jeff Martinez checks the smog on a client’s car.
The idea of a career in the service-station business would not be first on everyone’s list, but to Jeff Martinez, it’s a business in which he can help with customers’ automotive needs, give them more service than they expect, and provide a friendly experience that sends them off feeling better than when they drove in.
Martinez is the new owner of Lambert’s 76 on Broadway at MacArthur. However, he is not new to Lambert’s, having joined the company 19 years ago when Stuart Lambert – Stu to all who knew him – was running the enterprise, which consisted of several stations and a carwash.
“I met the Lamberts through the 4-H Club when I was 10 years old,” said Martinez. “When I was in my senior year, I heard of a job opening at Lambert’s and applied. The next day I had a job.”
Lambert was the kind of larger-than-life person who engendered loyalty in friends and employees. Over the years, he taught Martinez all facets of the business.
“I learned from the ground floor up,“ said Martinez. “Not just the nuts-and-bolts side, but also the values and philosophy that Stu had about how to treat customers.”
When Stu Lambert passed away five-and-a-half years ago, his widow, Marie, left her ranching operation in order to run the station business.
“Jeff and I worked side by side, getting familiar with all aspects that Stu had handled,” said Marie Lambert. “He has been my right hand and more, helping to build the service and repair side of the business for this station.”
Lambert wanted to get back to her first love, ranching, and felt that Martinez would be the right person to take over the station.
“Jeff is young and enthusiastic, and he has basically managed the business since we opened this location,” she said. “I knew he would carry on the traditions we began and make them even better now that it’s in his hands.”
“We’ve always been like a family here,” said Martinez, “and that’s how we want to continue. Customers love the fact that they can rely on us to pump their gas, wash their windshield and check oil and tires – give them full-service care with no extra charge.”
Martinez plans to add to the service and repair capabilities in response to a growing need, and is hoping to bring in a Spanish-speaking mechanic soon. “Driving to Santa Rosa or elsewhere to get your car serviced or for simple repairs no longer is cost-effective,” said Martinez, “so we are doing a lot more smog checks, tune-ups, brakes and maintenance jobs these days.”
Ownership always seems simpler from the outside, and Martinez acknowledges that it took a few weeks before he felt he had all the processes in place after assuming the business two months ago. (Martinez bought the business but Lambert retained ownership of the land itself.)
“As much as I knew as an employee, when it’s your own place, you feel a much greater responsibility. But with Stu and Marie as teachers and mentors for so many years, I’m in the best position any new owner can be to make a success of this business.”
Lambert’s 76 Station
899 Broadway
6:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mon. – Fri.
8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sat.
707.996.2044
