Garage visit: Bear and Bee 30 www.aftermarketonline.net SEPTEMBER 2024 For brother and sister Russ and Robyn Houlden their Bear and Bee Garage in Grantham really is a labour of love that has deep roots of affectionate memories into their family’s past. The Lincolnshire site was only acquired and opened last November as a sister site to the family’s Billingborough Cars and Commercials business in the county, but what a difference a year makes. Robyn officially joined the business just six months ago, bringing her extensive events and conference management expertise to help shape the future of the firm. And the business has already built up a solid reputation not just for your run-of-the-mill repairs and servicing, but as an important cog in the wheel of community activities — and as being a champion of next-generation mechanics seeking to get into the automotive world. Bear and Bee is ‘new’ to Grantham, but it has a rich history of service to the community dating back to a business first started by Russ and Robyn’s grandad, Gordon Reynoldson, in the 1960s. Their entrepreneurial spirit can be traced back to him too — for spotting a gap in the market and going from farm to farm across the county working on tractors and farm machinery from the back of his van. Ian Houlden, (Russ and Robyn’s father), who was in the roofing business, started working with Gordon and his then business partner sometime later. Ian had suffered a bad fall and decided to give up climbing ladders for a living. “Dad could turn his hand to anything and he was certainly capable of fixing cars, so it was an ideal move,” said Russ. Mum Bev, (Gordon’s daughter) and Ian’s wife, kept an eye on the finances and the three of them continued to build up the business after Gordon’s partner left the firm. Gordon died 16 years ago and Ian passed in 2020. Russ, who had completed a business degree in 2014, had been helping out with the business during times when Bev and Ian were taking a break, so it was a natural progression for him to take over. “I never intended to instantly go into the garage, I thought I might come back at some point, but I quite enjoyed it,” Russ said. He took over when he was just 28 and is now 32. The family were determined to honour Ian and adopted the ‘Bear and Bee’ name — in fond memory of his nickname, ‘Teddy Bear’, and Bev’s nickname, ‘Bee’. Bev took a break from the Family’s labour of love inspires a new generation
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