The Way We Were: Roger Vega: Unlocking the Past
Roger Vega is the one-man team behind his locksmith company, serving as the face and workforce of Piners Locksmith Service.
He is also the keeper of a Jacksonville legacy that predates the beginning of his company and stretches back to Piner’s Grocery, the neighborhood grocery store that would serve as an anchor to the Miramar community, whose former patrons keep it alive with memories and stories told.
“It’s great, I love it,” he said. “Because there’s people that ask all the time about Piner’s and they actually tell me stories how their grandparents used to go in there, or older folks who tell me how they used to go there when it used to be a bicycle shop. It feels good to be able to continue on a legacy.”
Vega came to Northeast Florida from New York, by way of Miami, and has called this area home for more than 20 years. While he has been part of Piner’s history for nearly half of that, he has been locksmithing since 1981, when he opened his first locksmith business.
He traveled back and forth between Jacksonville and Miami for several years before landing here permanently and says the people of Jacksonville are what make this the place he wants to be.
Piner’s Grocery went through several iterations along the journey: Following the grocery store, it became a bicycle/hardware shop before eventually becoming Piner’s Lock and Safe in 1962. It anchored Miramar Plaza for many years before Vega closed the storefront in March 2020, though, of course, he still runs his business by traveling to his clients anywhere within a 75- to 85-mile radius.
Vega worked under Richard Sigler, who Vega said was the manager of Piner’s Lock and Safe since the 1960s, working for George Piner, Jr. George Piner, Jr. was the second Piner to run the business, succeeding the first George Piner who opened the original Piner’s Grocery. Vega said he has fond memories of sitting in the office with Sigler, listening to his stories and learning from him.
When Sigler decided the time had come to retire, Vega took the opportunity to carry the Piner business into its next chapter. While he originally had plans to expand the business and move it to the Westside, Vega now prefers his small business the way it is.
Today, where Piner’s Lock and Safe once was, stands the newly renovated Miramar Plaza, which underwent an extensive exterior facelift last year. Vega recalled the old building, which he said “really needed a makeover.”
“You could tell the roof was leaking [in places], they had the old asbestos ceiling,” he said. “It really needed to be done. It’s kind of nice that people enjoyed coming to an old place, and they even talked about it, but it really did need a makeover without a doubt. As far as what they did now, I think they did a fantastic job.”
While he loves his customers and loves carrying on the Piner’s legacy, Vega said he equally loves being a small business owner and the freedom it affords him. While he never thinks he’ll truly and fully retire, he knows he would be “very picky” if the time ever came to sell the company.
“I’m just lucky that I can carry on Piner’s,” he said. “I love what I do.”
By Michele Leivas
Resident Community News
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