The Tribune: Meathead Movers Growing and Going

Posted on Fri, Apr. 30, 2010
Biz Buzz: Meathead Movers growing and going

Meathead Movers is moving — and expanding. Its owners will relocate their corporate headquarters and on May 25 open Meathead Mini Storage, a new line of business that will lease 703 storage units plus additional space to the public.

The new location at 3600 S. Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo is a few blocks away from the company’s current headquarters at 144 Hind Lane.

The expansion into self-storage is logical, said Aaron Steed, who with his brother Evan founded Meathead Movers while they were San Luis Obispo High School students in 1997.

“We’re moving so many of our customers to storage already,’’ he said, as well as advising them on appropriate unit sizes for storage.

The brothers — Aaron is president and chief executive officer, while Evan is vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer — jointly own their moving business, which now handles more than 3,000 moves a year throughout the state.

Central Coast Mini Storage, doing business as Meathead Mini Storage, is half owned by the brothers. According to Aaron Steed, the other half is owned by investors Alon Pnini, a plastic surgeon and businessman from Los Angeles; Steve Saldo, a lawyer and businessman from Templeton; and Bill Sima, an orthopedic surgeon and businessman from San Luis Obispo.

Central Coast Mini Storage invested $10.5 million in the storage facility plus a new headquarters and operation center for the moving company, Aaron Steed said. That figure includes the $3.6 million to buy the 6.2-acre property from 84 Lumber in April 2008, he said.

The company expects to fill 20 percent of the storage units within the first month, Steed said.

Meathead Mini Storage is offering 89,000 square feet of mini storage units of varying sizes for personal and commercial use, covered vehicle and boat storage.

In addition, it will lease 14,000 square feet of warehouse space in a main building fronting Higuera Street. It’s in that building where Meathead Movers is leasing 5,200 square feet for its corporate headquarters and operation center, Steed said.

Meathead Mini Storage is considering setting aside space for wine storage as well.

The property around the storage units will be secured with fencing and feature security cameras and a gate that can only be accessed by authorized users. It will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Once Meathead Mini Storage is established, the brothers hope to franchise their moving company’s business model, Aaron Steed said.

Meathead Movers employs about 180 people, including about 30 full-time, at its San Luis Obispo and Camarillo operations — three of them associated with the expansion. Most employees are athletes. Steed declined to disclose annual revenues or profits.
— Tribune staff