About

Billy Craven, Owner of Shores Automotive, has been a major part of the automotive service industry in Boca Raton, Florida since 1998 owning both Craven Tire & Auto and now Shores Automotive.  But long before setting his roots down in Boca, Billy and his family built a multi-million dollar automotive enterprise just outside Washington, D.C. in Northern Virginia where Billy was born and raised.

How it started:  Entrepreneurship runs in the family.  Craven’s dad, Bill Craven, saw a need in Bull Run, Virginia and opened an Esso Service Center in 1953 complete with gas pumps and convenience store.  It was a modern marvel at the time targeting people traveling the nearby highway.  They could stop, gas up and get a snack all at one place. Mr. Craven was also busy wholesaling and retailing tires which soon led to an opportunity in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia. In 1959, he united with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to become one of the first independent Goodyear shops in the area.

For many years, business was booming and the Bailey’s store was a top producer for Goodyear.  After Mr. Craven’s passing in 1980 at just 60 years old, the family desired to continue Bill’s dream of multiple locations and banded together to run the company, which grew to four stores by 1987.  Craven Tire & Auto shops were located in Bailey’s Crossroads, Arlington, Merrifield and Tysons Corner, Virginia and Billy served as Vice-President and Regional Manager.

Billy Craven, Jr. Moves South:  Having spent many years visiting Florida, Billy had his own dream to extend Craven Tire & Auto to South Florida.  In 1996, Billy and his wife, Cindy (who grew up in Pompano Beach), departed to Florida and the warmer climate of Boca Raton.  In 1998, Billy purchased his first shop in East Boca, and renamed it Craven Tire & Auto.  In 2012, he purchased Shores Automotive.

A True Family Business:  Over the years, each of Billy and Cindy’s three children worked at Shores and today it is managed by their son, Will, and son-in-law, Chayce (married to Tori).  Tori, their oldest daughter, was an integral part of the business  for many years until having children and still assists the company on a remote basis.  Billy and Cindy’s youngest daughter, Sarah Jane, is also a part of the team and a true car enthusiast.

Dream Team:  Craven credits his success at Shores to providing the highest customer service and finding the area’s finest technicians who have extensive training and share the same moral foundation of honesty, integrity, hard work, attention to detail and kindness in an industry that has been tainted with a bad reputation.  Conrad, the lead tech and shop manager, has been part of the Shores “family” since the beginning and is truly a mechanical genius.  Along with the other talented technicians, the team utilizes the finest software and automotive equipment to service and repair luxury European vehicles including Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Land Rover, Mini Cooper, and Jaguar.  Their Exotics line includes Aston Martin, Bentley, Maserati, and Rolls-Royce.