Courtesy of Josh Balch
Elite Offroad and Performance
Elite Offroad and Performance is opening an 8,000-square-foot shop in Chelsea.
Offroading enthusiasts will soon have a new place to customize Jeeps, trucks and other vehicles, as Elite Offroad and Performance opens this spring.
The new store, located at 14555 U.S. 280, is the brainchild of business partners Josh Balch and Patrick Murrah. Both have had an interest in offroading sports, from rock crawling to dirtbike racing, since childhood. Balch comes from a retail background related to offroad equipment, and Murrah has a fabrication shop in Irondale to create rock crawlers, buggies and other custom vehicles.
“Both of us have been into offroading, rock crawling and everything else since we were 15, 16 years old,” Balch said.
There are a lot of people in Alabama with Jeeps, lifted trucks and other customized vehicles, and Balch said he and Murrah have the expertise to offer equipment sales and installation, with “our own twist on stuff.”
Elite will offer alignments, suspension inspection, 4x4 services, brake services, lifting and lowering suspension kits, shock or strut replacement, towing accessories, load-carrying accessories, interior accessories, exhaust and air intake systems, performance chips and batteries.
“There’s so many different things you can do to a vehicle,” Balch said.
Most of what they offer will be bolt-on kits, but Balch said having Murrah’s fabrication knowledge will be helpful for occasional custom projects.
Finding the right location was one of the hardest parts of opening Elite, Balch said, as they needed a large space and wanted a road-facing location. Their new Chelsea shop is 8,000 square feet and fits the bill.
“Chelsea’s growing, so we thought it was a good location,” he said.
Balch said he believes Elite is the only offroad vehicle store on the 280 corridor.
The offroading community is a close one, Balch said, and he enjoys getting to know others in the area who share his interest at group trail rides and events.
“Everyone’s always there, willing to help each other,” he said.
Elite Offroad and Performance plans to open at the end of March or beginning of April. The store will be open 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday.
Learn more about their services at eliteoffroadperformance.com.
