Zeta Auto Parts, A Six-Decade Escalante Family Legacy

Throughout April, our weekly Belize on Reel segments have been spotlighting longstanding businesses across the country. We’ve featured enterprises in Belize City, San Ignacio, and Punta Gorda. Tonight, we head north to Orange Walk to highlight Zeta Auto Parts, a business born from the Escalante family’s pivot from public transportation and ice production. With a second branch now in western Belize, the company is led by a third-generation family businessman. News Five’s Paul Lopez sat down with him and a long-standing employee to learn how they’ve thrived over the years and met their customers’ needs. Here’s that report.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Three years before Belize gained independence, the Escalante family in Orange Walk Town founded Zeta Auto Parts. Before venturing into auto parts retail, they ran Escalante’s Bus Line and later launched Zeta Ice Factory. Today, thirty-one-year-old Adriel Escalante Jr., a third-generation businessman, is the general manager of Zeta Auto Parts.

 

Adriel Escalante, General Manager, Zeta Auto Parts

“It all started with my family running the Escalante Bus Line. Eventually the family decided to venture into ice and water business. They have sixty-four years running the business. Then some years passed and that is when they decided to open the Zeta Auto Parts in Town. I would say I was like eight or ten years I started to go with my dad, seeing how my dad worked with the auto parts business and then I said, I enjoyed it.”

 

Pedro Garcia is Zeta Auto Parts’ longest-serving employee, having been with the company for over two decades. He joined after leaving another auto parts business in town and recalls a time when Zeta Auto Parts was the only game in town for auto parts retail.

 

Pedro Garcia, Employee, Zeta Auto Parts

“I came to Zeta and I asked for a job and because I already had knowledge on parts it was easy for me. The customer is our number one priority. They come in and we try to give them the best service. They offer things that they would need, not just on the parts they are buying. We try to tell them you need this along with that. Sometimes mechanics send them and tell them just get that and they have to come back. So we try to tell them what would work along with other parts so that they could take it with them first.”

 

At Zeta Auto Parts, the hustle never stops. During our visit, customers were constantly coming and going. Fifteen years ago, the business moved from Main Street to its current location on Liberty Avenue, expanding storage to offer more products and meet new customer demands. Despite competitors with larger inventories opening up in town, Zeta has maintained its edge thanks to its longstanding reputation.

 

Adriel Escalante

“This property was owned by my uncle and he passed it own to my grandfather. We are here now at sixty-four Liberty Avenue. I saw it growing. I remember all my past employees and how the business was. It has been growing ever since. Now we decided to open a branch in the Cayo District. We are located in San Ignacio Town. Now, we are also going to expand in another location as well. I won’t say where. It is just coming soon. We have customers throughout the country, Corozal, Belize City, Cayo, down south.”

Pedro Garcia

“I have customers from when I was in Belize with the other company. I come this side and they still call. I have been dealing with them for over nineteen years. They just glad that they could call me and when they need parts I find parts for them. The company is still growing. I heard the boss say they want to expand. I will be here until I can.”

 

Zeta Auto Parts has thrived since the late Seventies on three key pillars: family legacy, dedicated employees, and customer satisfaction. Sugarcane farmers, a significant part of their customer base, benefit from the store’s strategic location. Adriel Escalante emphasizes that for Zeta Auto Parts to continue thriving for another five decades, they must constantly evolve and meet the changing needs of their customers.

 

Adriel Escalante

“We are looking to expand and this year we are going to bring more products and we are going to expand our inventory and also along the way we are going to have mechanical services that we are going to offer to our customers as well. We have to keep updated with a lot of things, as technology is growing. We have to stay, how you say it, “top ah things”.

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.