Cracks & Racks spawned from a tiny windshield repair business that began in Aspen in January, 1996. Scott would dart around town on his bike that he rigged with a milk crate and some signs, and fix minor windshield damage. At the end of the day, he would do the bookkeeping from the end of his kitchen table in a 3-bedroom condo with 4 other roommates. They didn't eat at the table very much that winter.
In the fall of 1997, Scott learned how to replace windshields, and opened a small shop, called Fas-Break, in the Aspen Airport Business Center. With a tiny loan, and a tinier budget, he developed relationships with some local insurance agents, and began advertising windshield replacement services. He could do installs in the shop, or he could do them on-site with a custom glass rack that fit into the receiver hitch of his SUV.
In the fall of 2000 a friend suggested that Scott sell and install roof racks and become a niche retailer. He thought it was a good idea and realized how easily this could fit with auto glass replacement. At this point, he started planning to become a full-blown specialty rack retailer and struck a deal to take over another shop bay and double the shop size, while still remaining in the same building in the Aspen Business Center. Now there was enough space to sell and install windshields and rack systems, and thus, Cracks & Racks was born.
As the new product rolled in disaster struck. Scott blew up his knee skiing Aspen Highlands on St. Patrick's day. The next day he found himself in surgery having his ACL reconstructed, while mentally trying to figure out how to change the business plan to get Cracks & Racks off the ground. Somehow things have a tendency to work themselves out, and we moved forward, albeit a bit slowly.
Our name changed from Fas-Break to Cracks & Racks in April 2001, which led many people to believe we were a new business. People even conjured up their own play on words with our new name. We learned a lot about racks in those first few months. We forced other retailers to re-examine their rack business as we set out to offer complete and professional rack sales and installation. Cracks & Racks offered more than just racks and windshields for sale. We developed relationships with our customers, listened to them, and helped create functional solutions to their individual needs. Doing so, we enhanced the lifestyle of thousands of local enthusiasts.
Let us become your favorite site for racks and car accessories!
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