All the signs referring to Parts City Auto Parts and Bumper Music are expected to be removed soon and replaced with signs that say O’Reilly Auto Parts.

One of Blue Earth’s auto parts stores is under new ownership, as of this past Monday, June 5.

Parts City Auto Parts, located in downtown Blue Earth, was purchased by O’Reilly Automotive, Inc., from long-time owners Scott and Kay Nemanic.

“They (O’Reilly Automotive) have long had an interest in purchasing the store,” Scott Nemanic says. “And we felt now was the right time to sell.”

The Nemanics also own Breen’s Home and Hardware store in downtown Blue Earth, as well as Kevin’s Repair in Amboy. Nemanic made it clear that they are retaining ownership of, and will still run, those two businesses.

In a press release O’Reilly Automotive said the name of the store will change to O’Reilly Auto Parts and will remain in the same location and with the same phone number. Most of the full time employees and the parts drivers will remain working at the store.

The music store which had been located inside the Parts City Auto Parts store had previously been sold to Josh Kafka and renamed Everlong Music. It has already moved out of the parts store and into the Breen’s Home and Hardware building on Main Street.

The Nemanics had owned Parts City Auto Parts for nearly 23 years, Scott Nemanic says.

“We bought the store in July of 2000,” Nemanic says. “It was Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts back then.”

The name was changed to Parts City Auto Parts when their parts wholesale supplier, O’Reilly Automotive, requested the name change back in 2006.

Now the name you’ll hear if you call the store will be “O’Reilly Auto Parts.”

“O’Reilly Automotive has a vast distribution network that enables the auto parts retailer to restock stores daily, so customers can quickly get what they need,” the company says in the press release.

“O’Reilly has been successful for more than 65 years by relentlessly focusing on providing consistently high levels of customer service,” said Phil Hopper, senior vice president of O’Reilly real estate and expansion. “We’d like to welcome the Parts City Auto Parts team members to Team O’Reilly, and we’re excited to provide top-notch service to our customers in Blue Earth and the surrounding communities.”

O’Reilly Automotive started in 1957 as a family-owned company. It now is a leading auto parts company, supplying automotive parts, tools and accessories to customers across the U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico. They have 6,000 store locations and now have added one in Blue Earth.