The Martino brothers run their shop — Gold Coast Auto Body in Chicago’s neighborhood of the same name— with uncompromising standards. Just like their father did before them. 

“Our father, Lorenzo, immigrated to the U.S. from Italy as a young man in the late 1950s and worked incredibly hard his entire life,” says Dominic Martino, president and second-generation co-owner alongside his brother, Mario, Gold Coast’s vice president. “Gold Coast is the direct result of that hard work, and now Mario and I operate with that same gusto.” 

The collision industry is night and day different now than when Lorenzo first started in it, of course — he came to America with little more than a dream and an interest in cars, says Dominic, and learned on the job, despite speaking very little English. Nowadays, the level of structured training required to properly fix a vehicle is extraordinary…and imperative to a safe and proper repair. 

Their shared, resolute work ethic, however, is timeless — and it’s the basis for everything Gold Coast Auto Body stands for. 

Loyalty Rewarded  

Lorenzo wasted no time getting to work when he arrived in the country — first in mechanic shops, then for a Mercedes-Benz/Rolls Royce collision shop owned by a dealership, which he ran for 31 years. 

“My father started working for that dealership in 1960,” recalls Dominic. “Back then, most of the people driving those types of vehicles were celebrities or titans of industry. A lot of his customers were big names — Hugh Hefner, Muhammad Ali, Barbara Eden, Yul Brynner, when he was in Chicago touring with  The King and I . It really was the ‘golden age’ of automotive repair.” 

As the dealership evolved over the years — eventually adding Audi, Infiniti, and Honda to the lineup — and the space the body shop occupied was needed for Honda’s service department, Lorenzo was presented with an offer he couldn’t refuse at the age of 53. 

“The owners came to my father and, knowing he’d always wanted to start his own place, offered to help him do that by giving him the body shop side of the business. They truly honored his hard work and decades of service in the ultimate way with that offer. He bought the equipment on consignment and opened up shop in ‘92, and my brother and I both joined him in the business later that same year.” 

Together, the father and sons laid the foundation for Gold Coast Auto Body, growing the business and selling their original location before building a new 50,000 square foot shop three blocks away in 2000 (that they still occupy today). Lorenzo then retired in 2003, leaving Dominic and Mario to carry on the family’s legacy. 

To this day, Dominic says, his father is amazed by the modern shop — the scale of it, the overhead, the training, the technology in the vehicles —e verything. But, most of all, he’s proud of what it’s become. 

“We are all incredibly proud of our father, and he of us.” 

Only the Best, Nothing Less  

With the most OEM certifications of any shop in the greater Chicago area and 40 team members who share the same passion for uncompromising quality, Gold Coast stands out from its competitors in significant ways. 

“Plenty of big shops have high capacity, but they don’t necessarily have the capability to go along with it. That’s where we’re different. We currently have 16 OEM certifications — including Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Lucid (who named Gold Coast their 2025 Central Region Partner of the Year), Rivian, Volvo, and VW, and we’re in the process of adding Toyota and Lexus as well. We’ve built those certifications strategically around the types of dealerships that are in our market. Having the certifications, the advanced training…it’s the only way for an independent repair facility like us to compete in today's climate.” 

And compete, they certainly do — despite operating in the one of the most heavily consolidated markets in the country, Gold Coast continues to thrive, which Dominic attributes to their expertise, transparency, and reputation for safe, quality repairs, knowledgeable staff, and exceptional guest service. They place a heavy emphasis on customer education as well, both around the repair itself and the challenges of navigating insurance claims. 

One of their biggest challenges, he says, as it is for any independent, highly certified shop, is proper insurance reimbursement; equipping customers with the proper documentation and arming them with knowledge of their rights is essential. And the shop only has direct repair relationships with three select insurers that align with their repair standards and reimburse according to OEM guidelines. 

“We don't have that steady stream coming to us from insurance partners, so we have to get the work on our merit and our reputation,” he says, which is a true testament to their exemplary operations and uncompromising standards. 

“The complexity of modern vehicles demands training and practice, and being held accountable for the work. I don’t see another way to do that outside of certifications and advanced manufacturer training. It’s the way of the future,” Dominic says. 

Processes and procedures are imperative, he adds, which is another reason why OEM repair instructions are so important. 

“And these protocols change all the time, even month to month. Just because you’ve read it once doesn’t mean it’ll be the same the next time. That’s why we reference the instructions with every single repair that comes into our shop.” 

Gold Coast also boasts an independent, cross-trained team that’s encouraged to function autonomously — micromanaging is strictly prohibited. 

“You have to trust the people you have out on the floor,” Dominic says. “You can’t be there every second of the day, nor should you need to be. That’s why it’s imperative that you have strong leadership, and good people working for you.” 

“We've built that redundancy into our team, and we’re cross-functional; different levels of management are involved in the process. We all inherit the job, so to speak --it’s not just one person's responsibility. Everybody knows the right thing to do. Sometimes there are questions, or someone wants to get approval on something, and I'm good with that of course,” Dominic says. “But I'm also good with them executing decisions — they know what needs to be done. They all have ownership of the process and of the guest. That's what I mean by cross-functional; everybody owns this.” 

Accountability is universal in the business, from top to bottom. The owners and leadership team expect to be held accountable, too. 

“I fail often; we all do,” Dominic says. “But I keep getting up and I keep moving forward. What’s important is that we learn from our mistakes and do better, do differently, next time. All we’re looking for is honesty and accountability here, and the ability to course correct.” 

Never Stop Learning  

“Both the challenges and rewards of owning your own shop are incredible,” admits Dominic, who says there have been many moments of utter confusion and frustration throughout the years. But fortunately, he and Mario learned quickly that surrounding yourself with people smarter than yourself and asking for help is paramount to running a successful business. 

“I really learned early on to lean on our vendors and what they were offering as far as trainings and mentoring.” BASF, he says, has been incredibly helpful throughout the years in connecting them to resources.  

“Just because you don’t know something doesn’t make you a bad businessperson,” he says. “Just the opposite, in fact. Admitting when you don’t know and seeking help shows your strength as a leader.”  

Other shop operators are treasure troves of knowledge, adds Dominic, who is incredibly thankful for the national group of peers he’s connected to. 

“That’s how I expand my knowledge: I surround myself with people whose methodologies and business acumen I admire and I learn from them. That's one reason why we really do believe in the certifications — it gives us the opportunity to be with the trainers and with the shop owners and these other great technicians and learn from them on a regular basis.” 

Mentors from outside the industry can be extremely helpful as well, he says. 

“My involvement in military philanthropy, being a mentor for a transition institute and learning from military people, particularly those involved in special operations, I've gotten close to that community and have become friends with some great people and leaders that I’ve learned a lot from, especially what their accountability and safety protocols look like.” 

Although the shop is not the same type of imminent life or death situation as a battlefield, he explains, there are many parallels between the military and collision repair. 

“The repairs we perform in the shop — if they’re not done properly — could indeed result in a death. And our entire team takes that responsibility very seriously.” 

“It all comes back to ensuring our guests’ safety; protecting them and their loved ones is our top priority. They are the guiding light of our business.” 

Carrying the Torch  

One of Dominic’s concerns for the future is how people will be able to open a certified shop in the years to come, given the high capital investment required to obtain the certifications, trainings, and tools and equipment needed to repair modern vehicles. 

“It’s not like it was 20, 30, 40 years ago,” he says. “These future shop owners aren’t going to have that long runway that we had to build upon. There will be big expenditures right out of the gate.” 

Those expenditures lessen the more certifications you obtain, he says, with crossover in training and equipment requirements — but the initial expenditure is “significant.” 

It’s yet another reason why having industry connections is imperative. 

“You have to go out and you have to find those people who have done it and learn from them; how they made it happen, how they found investors.” 

But first things first…cultivating interest in the next generation is essential, he says, to help them understand the wide variety of opportunities available in the collision industry. 

Toward that end, the Gold Coast team involves themselves with local education institutions and takes advantage of opportunities to invest in young learners. They recently sponsored a racing team from a local tech-focused high school that performed so well regionally that they’ve secured a spot in an international competition in Singapore. 

“We brought them to the shop, and they were so excited to see the cars and learn about the business. These are future automotive engineers, these kids. And just seeing their eyes light up and the excitement they have, it feels really good to support their dreams. We’re really proud of them.” 

“In a time when we're all facing a lot of challenges and a shrinking market, something you can find true satisfaction in is investing in these young people who will carry the torch forward; carry the industry into the future.” 

At Gold Coast, two of Mario’s children — Francesca, a customer service rep, and Frank, a technician — are carrying that torch, ushering in the third generation of family involvement in the business. 

No matter who’s at the helm in the years to come, though, one thing is certain—the unwavering integrity and uncompromising standards that built the business will be what carries it into the future. 

“We will continue to improve our knowledge and skills in order to provide the Chicago market with safe, quality, best-in-class collision repairs.”