A mid-summer day in 2022 started out like any other for Cris Moreno and was supposed to conclude with a joyful night out with his mother and an uncle and aunt visiting from California.
It was during that outing when another vehicle slammed into Moreno’s GMC truck. He was badly injured and rushed to DHR Health hospital in Edinburg. Moreno is a mechanic who has owned and operated an auto service business for many years in north McAllen. It turned out that he was treated by medical professionals who knew him well.
“I just remember the trauma surgeon coming over and saying, ‘Cris is that you?”’ Moreno recalled. “The surgeon, one of my nurses and the anesthesiologists were all customers.”
Both Moreno and his mother Elma suffered serious injuries, with his mom being hospitalized for over three months. His aunt and uncle had only minor injuries.
“Second chances,” he said, with his eyes filling with tears. “God has me here working for Him.”
And he still has his mother.
An Uncle’s Influence
Moreno’s life began in Monterrey, Mexico.
His parents’ trip to visit family turned into the unexpected arrival of baby Moreno. The family returned to their home in Detroit before moving to Pharr and then McAllen. Moreno graduated from McAllen High School in 1993.
Moreno worked for a local limousine and auto repair business during his high school years. He stayed working there after graduation. College was not on his radar even with four sisters having graduate degrees.
“School was never for me,” Moreno said. “We don’t all need a college degree. We need electricians, mechanics, bricklayers and plumbers.”
Moreno speaks candidly about the challenges he faced in school and the frustration he endured because no one recognized his struggles and frustration. During his childhood, Moreno spent summers at the ranch of his Uncle Hector and got exposed to entrepreneurship.
“He was my dad’s oldest brother,” Moreno said of his uncle. “He had an auto repair shop, bakeries and tortillerias.”
Moreno recalled his uncle teaching him how to whistle and passing on some unforgettable life lessons.
“He was the kind of guy who would see a car broken down on the side of the road and stop to help the person,” Moreno said of his uncle. “He would say, ‘You never know when you’re gonna be in that situation.’ I learned from him how to treat people.”
Building Relationships
Moreno also learned about the entrepreneurial spirit.
In 2009, he embraced that spirt, opening his own automotive repair shop in a pre-existing building on Trenton Road and Main Street in north McAllen.
“I only had $1,500, which covered the rent, electricity and deposit,” Moreno said. “But Marty Charles, Dora Brown and David Guerra from IBC Bank believed in me and helped me out.”
Despite his lack of capital, IBC approved a loan for Moreno to open Cris Auto Service. Friends at NAPA Auto Parts and O’Reilly Auto Parts gave him advice and supported him as he got his business going. One of his co-workers, Joe Rodriguez, and his brother, Mike, made up the original team. Joe Rodriguez is currently Moreno’s shop foreman.
Moreno still remembers his first customer, Josette Guerra, who is a customer to this day.
“He was just so awesome,” Guerra said. “He took very good care of me.”
Moreno’s business grew and he needed more employees and space. He moved to a McAllen strip center on north 23rd Street. In June 2022, Moreno and his team moved into a newly constructed and freestanding Cris Auto Service on North 23rd and Warbler Avenue in McAllen. Moreno attributes his success to the lessons he learned from Tio Hector and from living life.
“You have to build relationships with your customers,” he said.
Moreno explains the repair work in a way the customer will understand, attributing this to his own academic struggles and how he longed for someone to explain material to him in a way he understood.
He values supporting the community where he lives, especially the schools. During the holidays, Moreno helps families in need of clothing and food in following the spirit of his Uncle Hector.
He would need that family spirit and resiliency in dealing with and recovering from the traumatic auto accident of July 13, 2022. An ambulance rushed Moreno to DHR Health, where he underwent surgery for a fractured skull. Upon leaving the hospital days later, Moreno went straight to Cris Auto Service. He had payroll to do.
“This is my baby,” Moreno said of his business. “I get to see my customers’ children in strollers and as college graduates. I have customers like Mrs. Rocha, who bakes banana bread and brings it to all of my guys, and Brent from Sweet & Tasty, who drops off baked goods.”
Lingering headaches remind Moreno of the accident, but gratitude outweighs them. Now he has that second chance to personally greet every customer who walks through the door, shadow his mechanics so he can explain their work to his customers, and build the relationships that are a hallmark of Cris Auto Service.