Car collector Steve Tetreault in his man cave.
It’s one of the oddest yet most elegant spaces in Sarasota. But what is it? A garage? A carefully curated man cave? A gallery? A tribute to a life’s passion? You’ll find a little of each at Steve Tetreault’s warehouse in downtown Sarasota.
Tetreault is a car collector but one with an unusual focus. His field of expertise is the innovative Japanese sports cars of the mid-’60s. The Honda S600. The Datsun 2000. He finds them, has them restored, then enters them in prestigious competitions.
The cars Tetreault champions are the hidden gems of the automotive world, the true underdogs. “After World War II there was a lot of resentment toward Japan,” Tetreault says. “Many Americans dismissed these cars as cheap or unrefined. In reality, these early Japanese sports cars were marvels of engineering and design—full of character and boatloads of fun to drive.” And they weren’t copycats of their more famous European cousins. “They were creating something distinctly Japanese,” Tetreault says. “That makes them special to me.”
Tetreault appreciates both their beauty and their engineering. “The mechanicals in these cars are remarkably advanced for their time,” he notes. “High-revving, precision-built engines, lightweight performance drivetrains—and bodies—all clever, with Japanese attention to detail.”
Tetreault’s Datsun 2000 won Best in Show, beating out Porsches and Lamborghinis, in the import category at a prestigious event.
Tetreault admits to a competitive streak and has entered his cars in many shows over the years, culminating with the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance in 2020. For years the more prestigious events only allowed “European Sports Imports.” Finally, they changed the classification to “Foreign Imports,” and Tetreault entered his Datsun 2000. The result? A Best in Show, beating out all the Porsches and Lamborghinis. “It was deeply rewarding to see a Japanese classic earn that respect,” he says. “It affirmed my passion about preserving and showing these beauties.”
A local boy, Tetreault grew up in Bayshore Gardens and learned the value of self-discipline and hard work while on the swim team at Manatee High. But the biggest influence in his life has been his mother, Luce Tetreault. Many knew her from her hair salon on Main Street, which back in the day was the place to get your haircut.
But Luce had a passion, or rather two of them—hairdressing competitions and muscle cars. She would drive her Pontiac GTO, Trans Am or Corvette and compete in hairstyling events all over Florida. Tetreault remembers, “I would wait up at night to see if she won an award.”
After watching his mother work magic on her clients, Tetreault decided hairdressing was a profession he was destined for and joined her in the salon for 15 years. He also took up her passion for hair-styling competitions and has competed nationally and internationally.
Tetreault’s garage is filled with midcentury furniture and art by John Pirman, his partner of 25 years.
Today, Tetreault works in New York, where he has an apartment in Greenwich Village, but home is definitely Sarasota and the life he shares with his partner of 25 years, John Pirman. Pirman is a well-known artist, famous for his crisp modern style and his work with Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and The Ringling. The house the couple shares near the museum—designed by Michael Epstein of Seibert Architects—is one of the town’s new modern classics.
“John is an essential part of my Concours journey,” Tetreault is quick to point out. “He brings an incredible eye for detail and presentation and helps me see things I may have overlooked. He reminds me that showing a car is as much about storytelling and design as it is about nostalgia. And besides, someone has to take the photos and fetch the sandwiches.”
Two of Tetreault’s 1960s cars.
The sleek dashboard of one of Tretreault’s Hondas.
The cars were originally housed in the garage of their home until Pirman protested about the gaseous smell of carbureted engines. “To me it’s like perfume,” says Tetreault. So, he set about to find an off-site space that he could “keep, do and dream.”
Contractor Pat Ball, who specializes in resurrecting older buildings, led them to a small industrial warehouse in the Rosemary District near downtown Sarasota. It had been a showroom for Faour Glass, and there was an abundance of glass samples and serpentine walls and stairs. Ball engineered a way to remove all the hazardous glass and left them with an elegant, empty space to keep—and display— Tetreault’s cars.
From the outside, the 1,000-square-foot building is unchanged, down to
the original paint and signage from the former owners. Inside is a different story: low-voltage lighting, Spotify sound and a small kitchen. Period-correct, early garage seating—patched with duct tape, of course—sits beside a driftwood table topped with a classic Frederick Weinberg midcentury lamp. It’s a mix of comfort, charm and authenticity. “My friends call it the ‘Garage Mahal,”’ Tetreault says. “I call it peace.”
AloJapan.com