New SLO County shop features automotive art and furniture — with coffee on the side

A new business that blends automotive-themed art and furniture with coffee is coming to Atascadero.

Ben’s Automotive Decor (B.A.D.), which offers luxury furniture and decor items made from car parts, will showcase its creations at a new art gallery/coffee shop, slated to open Friday on the north end of town.

Founder and longtime mechanic Ben Harvey developed the automotive art gallery concept after a career restoring cars.

“I think it’s really cool to display them,” Harvey said of classic car engines-turned furniture, adding that many car enthusiasts are interested in seeing exposed car parts as decor or furniture.

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The shop will include a gallery, coffee cart and furniture for sale, featuring coffee tables and other automotive furniture like barware items. Harvey said customers can also come to talk about custom orders.

It will hold an opening celebration from 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday with workshop tours, live music, refreshments and giveaways, according to a news release. The event is also an “open invitation for car enthusiasts to bring their favorite cars to the show,” the release said.

Luxury car parts and clients

Harvey said he’s used a lot of racing car parts in his work, like Formula One or NASCAR engines.

“A lot of Ferrari and Lamborghini — so, kind of the higher-end engines — make a really cool table,” Harvey said.

This past week, Harvey said he was featured on Chicago-based show “Windy City Rehab,” an HGTV series that showcases upscale design as interior designer Alison Victoria restores old, timeworn homes in Chicago.

Harvey says his team’s coffee tables have also been bought by British luxury car manufacturer McLaren and are at the company’s headquarters in Texas.

“We do really high-end stuff,” Harvey said of the furniture and the clients his team works with.

How car enthusiast went from mechanic to luxury designer

Harvey comes from a long line of car mechanics.

Originally from the U.K., his roots are in mechanics and cars. In the 1960s, Harvey’s grandfather bought a mechanic shop, which his uncle later took over. Harvey said he grew up working in that garage alongside his family. Harvey said the shop is believed to be the oldest mechanic shop in the world, first established in 1815. The shop has old horse carriages with name plates stamped from the late 1800s.

Harvey came to California in 2012 after meeting his wife, who is from Atascadero. Harvey restored cars at British Sports Cars in in San Luis Obispo for about eight years before his own business took off.

The focus changed, though, when Harvey saw an engine coffee table made on British television show Top Gear. His passion for cars then swerved down a more artistic road.

After seeing different concepts on the show, Harvey said his first engine-turned-coffee table used a V12 Aston Martin engine, which will be on display at the shop. He also made a clock out of a car piston for his nephew.

Harvey said he tries to take apart the engine in his work, which allows people to really see how they function.

Combining coffee with cars

Harvey said the only missing piece was having a place to display all his work. He wanted a space for customers to talk about their design and see for themselves the process of making high-end auto furniture.

“Up until now, I’ve been in an industrial unit,” Harvey said. “But I really wanted to have like a showroom, hangout area.”

Harvey said he partnered with Paso Robles-based coffee brand Iron Wolf Coffee, which originally started by attaching a coffee cart to a motorcycle. The company’s website says it combines pursuits of “fun on two wheels and a love for the outdoors,” catering weddings and private events with its mobile coffee cart.

At Ben’s Automotive Decor, Iron Wolf Coffee will run the coffee side of operations while Harvey sticks to automotive art.

“I also want people to be able to see the whole process of what we do,” Harvey said. “That’s part of this coffee shop ... that you can come in, and you can see, like, a McLaren engine just ready to be built.”

The shop will include an intimate space for six people inside with another four spots outside, though Harvey said they may add more seats.

Ben’s Automotive Decor is located at 3710 El Camino Real and will be open from Monday through Saturday with coffee served from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. The workshop is open 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Visit bensautodecor.com, email ben@bensautodecor.com or call 805-712-9942 for more information.