Ereminas Imports Scales Back
by Dave Pratt
Velocissima Editor
[This is the first in a series of profiles about the people and companies around New England who are out there as resources that we can draw upon to help keep our Alfas running and make them better. —Ed.]
After over 25 years in business as a purveyor of Alfa parts and various services, Don Ereminas of Ereminas Imports has announced that, as of the end of October, they’ll be leaving the new and used Alfa parts business. Those of you on the AONE email list were notified (along with the Fall Tour announcement) of Ereminas’s close-out sale that lasted until October 19. After that, all of the excess inventory was loaded into a 40-foot tractor trailer. Don is contemplating moving out west in a year or two and, if he does, it’ll just get hauled out there with him.
Since my brother John (‘72 GTV) and I happened to be in the neighborhood of Torrington, CT visiting relatives back in early October, we decided to drop in to the Ereminas Imports shop and pay Don a surprise visit. There was no one around when we arrived, but Don showed up as we were peering in the windows, and we had a very pleasant and informative chat.
"We sort of backed into it", says Don, "—a hobby gone berserk—so it is difficult to say exactly when we ‘started.’ We’ve been in the present building since 1982, and in our cellar for a good many years before that, so 30 years may not be a stretch. I bought my first Alfa 39 years ago and learned how to fix ‘em on my own, with some good advice from people who had been there and experienced similar problems."
Don Ereminas poses in front of
Ereminas Imports’s
highly-organized computer-controlled just-in-time inventory
Don, like many long-time Alfisti, has a lot of interesting and crazy Alfa tales bottled up. Perhaps we’ll get him to spill some of them for us in these pages soon. (And that goes for any and all of you—send in your stories!)
All of us who have dealt with Don over the years know him as a
knowledgeable, helpful straight-shooter, and as such a resource he’ll be missed. To
quote AONE member John Legelis, "Don has been a tremendous contributor/innovator in
the Alfa community as the proprietor of a truly well-run and dependable business
specializing in Alfa parts." Don plans to continue on with his engine and
transmission rebuilding services, and to pursue the development of his TZ replica. Give
him a call at 860-496-9800 or email at alfaromeo@pobox.com to find out what he’s up to, wish him well, or maybe to see
whether there might be a part or two near the trailer door that he might be willing to dig
out and sell to you. 