WARRENTON O’Reilly Auto Parts opened Monday at the Warrenton Highlands shopping complex, the second such addition in the last six months around the intersection of Ensign Lane and U.S. Highway 101.

It sits across from to the AutoZone that opened in August next to the Costco. O’Reilly’s and AutoZone are the two largest auto parts retailers in the United States.

“It’s been a couple years that we’ve been looking at different pieces of property,” said District Manager Shawn Willis of O’Reilly. “We ran into some snags along the way (toward opening). It allowed us to assemble a good team of employees out here. We hired six guys locally.”

Monday’s opening was the start of a “soft” run, during which the store trains its six locally-hired employees on all the aspects of the business, from mufflers to customer service. Store Manager Patric Hughes, a Clatskanie native, moved from a similar job at O’Reilly in Longview, Wash., to run the store in Warrenton.

“O’Reilly’s gets back down to the baseline auto parts,” he said. “It makes it all about the customers, and that’s a big focus.

“Competition gets fierce. We’ve got a huge inventory, high level of inventory” and a distribution center in Seattle.

Hughes said O’Reilly has an advantage through the dedicated distribution that allows him to rush parts and the store to service other professional auto shops along with individual customers.

Two other long-time Astoria-Warrenton auto parts stores have taken stock of the new environment but aren’t too worried about the competition.

“I’m always concerned about new competitors,” said Rick Newton, owner of Warrenton Auto Parts. “If we’re taking care of our customers like we should, there won’t be a problem. It’s like getting a report card.”

Newton, who has run one of a minority of independently owned auto parts retailers in Warrenton for 35 years, said he has a loyal customer base, and people will realize the value of his store.

Ed Bussone works for NAPA Astoria Auto Parts, part of the Sunset Auto Parts chain that owns 10 NAPA stores in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. He and Newton both notice the synergy forming around the popular Warrenton intersection.

“I think they (O’Reilly Auto Parts) see a Costco that’s obviously a successful one, and a Home Depot,” said Bussone. “I think it’s a natural draw. I think a brand-name cafe is next in line.”

O’Reilly will hold a grand opening Feb. 11, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a check gifted to United Way.

O’Reilly Auto Parts started in St. Louis, Mo. In 1993, it completed a public offering of stock and joined the NASDAQ exchange. Since 2000, it has bought out four rival auto parts retailers and now has more than 3,500 locations across the U.S., second only to AutoZone.

Its largest and most recent acquisition was of CSK?Auto, the umbrella company of Checker Auto Parts, Schucks Auto Supply, Kragen Auto Parts and Murray’s Discount Auto Stores. It is now one of the three largest auto parts retailers in the country, along with AutoZone and NAPA.