A1 Lock & Key celebrates year anniversary in Old Town

Whether you’re locked out of your home or car, want to install a security system in your home or just need a new programmable key for your car, A1 Lock & Key in the heart of Old Town Clovis is available to meet those needs.

Owners Terri and Martin Hinshaw celebrated A1 Lock & Key’s one-year anniversary as a brick and mortar store with a Clovis Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony March 31.

The couple ran their mobile business for years, but the physical location in Old Town Clovis fell into their laps, Terri said.

The store at 515 4th Street had been a locksmith shop for more than 20 years, as A&G Lock and Key Service owned by Art and Glynda Schuler.

After Art’s death, the locksmith shop soon became available, Terri said.

The Hinshaws took over the building and said business has been great ever since.

“We love the downtown area,” Terri said. “We’ve lived in Clovis for more than 20 years. After living here it’s kind of hard to go elsewhere.”

The Hinshaws are continually working on their inventory, trying to sell out of items to make more more room for more keys and security systems, Terri said.

A1 Lock & Key specializes in programming electronic vehicle keys and remotes, installing residential and commercial locks and security systems and cameras, duplicating keys and locks and handling mobile calls for vehicles, residential and commercial lockouts.

“We have another locksmith that does the mobile residential and commercial portion of the business,” Terri said. “We have a couple other locksmiths that do some of the automotive. We do a lot of it too, but we can’t do it all. Martin can’t run the shop and go out on a call at the same time.”

Martin’s passion is electrical work, and he’s been a general contractor for more than 30 years, Terri said. His contractor’s license allows him to handle bigger commercial and residential jobs, she said.

“Technically when you have a licensed locksmith doing work on your house that totals more than $500, they should have a contractor’s license also,” she explained.

Programming and duplicating programmable automotive keys has become A1 Lock & Key’s most popular service, Terri said.

“Now that the word is out that we do them and we program them here, we’re doing more and more of that,” she said. “We are significantly cheaper than the dealers. Some of the makes are a little more difficult, but if we can’t do them, Marty will find somebody that does.”

The Hinshaws strive to bring back the Schulers’ level of “good old fashioned customer service,” Terri said.

“If there’s a key that doesn’t work — which doesn’t happen very often, trust me — you can bring it back and we’ll make it right,” she said. “We want to bring back the good ol’ customer service that Old Town Clovis is used to.”

▪ A1 Lock & Key is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday at 515 4th Street in Old Town Clovis. The phone number is (559) 298-5625.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 10:02 AM with the headline "A1 Lock & Key celebrates year anniversary in Old Town."