Born into a sharecropping family, Sam Meineke would go on to own 10 service and repair shops before launching the franchise
Sam Meineke passed away last week at the age of 93. He founded Meineke Discount Mufflers in 1971 and opened the first franchise location in 1972.
“Sam’s vision, dedication, and unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional customer service laid the foundation for the company we are today,” said Rob Fillman, President of Meineke. “Sam established the Meineke brand with a simple but powerful principle: to provide drivers with reliable, high-quality auto care that they could trust.”
Meineke was born into a sharecropping family in Oklahoma. He told MSA Worldwide, “Momma referred to us as poor people, but it didn’t really hit me until I went to school and saw the other kids eating nice lunches. All I had was cornbread and a bit of dried meat, wrapped in a piece of cloth or newspaper.”
After moving to Texas where his father was employed in a shipyard, Meineke started to look for employment. At one of the businesses where he worked, he found a mentor who explained the basics of running a business. With his savings, Meineke purchased an automotive service station in 1951 before he was 21 years old. As he told MSA Worldwide, “You’ve got to prime yourself for success, visualize it.”
The next year, he took on a partner, Edward Bass, who was a friend from school and who owned a different service station. By 1970, they had 12 locations before they parted ways.
Meineke Discount Mufflers is born
Meineke studied the landscape and realized that Midas was the only major muffler company. He decided to open a competitor to Midas, starting with one Meineke location in 1971. His ethos was to win on speed, price, and service. The model was appealing as a franchise business, and, in the next year, the first franchise location opened. Meineke continued to run his own stores, where he would test new ideas in the 10 shops he owned before passing them on to the franchisees.
“By the time I got into franchising, I had enough experience in operating and managing the business that I could really help my franchisees, which is what I really enjoyed. The Meineke concept turned out to be a great business. Particularly the franchising, that was the most exciting thing I have ever done. I don’t think I’ll ever top it,” he told MSA Worldwide.
In 1999, Meineke transitioned to full-service care centers and would eventually purchase Maaco to form Driven Brands.
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