By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
A well-respected Mesquite business has moved into a new headquarters. And the new location happens to be a historic fixture in downtown Mesquite.
Guillen Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration has moved offices from its former location directly across from City Hall to the old Harley’s Garage building at 272 W. Mesquite Blvd. (see companion article about Harley’s Garage).
The company’s owner Jose Guillen said that he had purchased the building last fall and has spent the past six months getting ready to move his business into it. It was a big job.
The first task was to clean up the site, and the significant automobile boneyard that had accumulated over the years in back of the building. The lot where the former garage stands totals 2.1 acres, with most of that space behind the building.
“We had 84 old cars parked in the back,” Guillen said. “And there were more than 800 tires that we had to haul away. So that was a big part of the work.”
In addition, Guillen has painted both the exterior and interior of the building, put new signage in front, put up new sheetrock in the interior, installed all new flooring, added new HVAC units, updated the plumbing and more.
“It was a lot of work to do,” Guillen said. “And it all had to be done while we were running the business. So there were a lot of weekends that we spent here.”
With the downtown building beautified and much improved, Guillen said he is now ready to celebrate moving into the new space. The business began operations in the new building on Monday morning, Jun. 5.
Guillen plans to hold a big grand opening celebration where all of the community is invited. The big event is scheduled for Friday afternoon, June 16.
“We are going to do a big barbecue” Guillen said. “We will have carne asada for whoever comes.”
The company will also be doing some major giveaway drawings that day. The grand prize will be a brand new York heat pump HVAC system including installation. This prize will include a 10-year warrantee on parts and installation. Other prizes will include a new water heater and a smaller mini-split AC unit.
Guillen opened his business in 2014. Since that time it has become a very reputable operation and a go-to spot for local residents who need help with heating, cooling and plumbing services.
Asked what the secret to his business success is, Guillen says simply, “We just try to be fair and trustworthy. And we try to give the best quality that we can. Because, you know, people talk. And that can either help you or hurt you.”
Guillen first came to Mesquite as a very young man in June of 1995. He arrived late at night on a Greyhound bus out of Las Vegas.
He had just come from spending about 6 years as an agriculture field worker in Oxnard, California picking celery and broccoli.
He arrived in Mesquite and went to work for minimum wage at the Virgin River. He started as a porter and moved his way up into the maintenance department. That is where he learned the HVAC trade. At some point he began plying his trade in side HVAC jobs for friends and acquaintances around town. That side business began to grow until it became clear that Guillen needed to devote more effort to it.
“I decided that I needed to pull a license and actually do it the right way,” Guillen said.
So he took the plunge into small business ownership. He initially opened up shop leasing a small space in the Sun Valley Plaza. But he quickly grew out of that space in the first year and moved to his current location where he has leased space ever since.
More recently, the operation has become a family business. In 2018, Guillen was joined in the business by his two sons Rafael, who had just graduated from college at the time, and Juan who had just finished high school.
The business now employs 15 people including HVAC technicians, certified plumbers and other staff members.
“Honestly, I didn’t ever expect to be successful at this,” Guillen said. “I am grateful to this community. It has been a great place to live.”
For more information about Guillen Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration, call 702-346-3000 or visit guillenhc.com.
