Rising Stars: Meet Rob Ayers of Hillsborough

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob Ayers.

Hi Rob, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started Cars and Coffee Morrisville in December 2015. When I started Cars and Coffee Morrisville, my three goals were to make new friends, see some cool cars, and give back to the community. Our original location was the Morrisville Outlet Mall, and when that Mall was sold to a developer, we moved to Churchill Hall at 5425 Page rd. in June 2019. We have almost 11,000 followers on our Facebook page and almost 8,000 followers on Instagram. Our events are on the first Saturday of the month from 8-11 am, and we typically have between 2,000-3,000 cars, trucks, and motorcycles there. We also do a different charity every month along with the blood bus for people to donate blood. We have approximately 150 sponsors, including Ferrari, Mercedes Benz of Durham, Leith Cars, BMW, Hagerty, and numerous other car-related businesses. We partner with the Durham Police Department and have 5 off-duty Police Officers work our events. At every event, we have food/beverage trucks.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been fairly smooth?
The main struggle we have had is adjusting to the growth of Cars and Coffee Morrisville. When we started, we had 30-40 cars show up, and now we have 2,000-3,000 cars at every event. To adjust to that growth, we added sponsors in 2019 to help with the costs associated with our event. We also partnered with Meg’s Smile, MeFine Foundation, The Durham Rescue Mission, and other charities so that we could give back to the community that supports us. It also allows us to be more of a community event and not just a car show.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I started Ayers Landscape and Design in March of 2007. I specialize in residential Landscape Architecture and also maintain 30 residential properties. After I complete a design, I give them to a contractor to do the project. I then do periodic walkthroughs with the client to ensure the project is completed as designed. Before starting my business, I was a Manager for Saks Fifth Avenue in Raleigh. I learned a lot of my business management skills through Saks Fifth Avenue. We also won the President’s Award from Saks Fifth Avenue in 2003 for achieving sales and shortage goals. My approach has always been to establish client relationships instead of looking at them from a monetary relationship. I feel like if you connect with somebody on a personal level, then that relationship will grow with them and future clients. I also believe that you should surround yourself with good people.

What do you think about happiness?
Helping others and doing stuff to help improve our community is what makes me happy. My parents always said it’s not what you do but what you do for others that matters. Every day I ask myself, “what did I do today to help somebody else? And also, what can I do to be a better father and friend?”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Cars_and_coffee_morrisville
• Facebook: Morrisville Cars and Coffee
• Other: Ayers Landscape and Design