Gotham Garage may be the backdrop of Car Masters: Rust to Riches, but it is also a real garage that is still in business.
Although Car Masters: Rust to Riches has faced some criticism over the years, the show does have a loyal following of fans.
Since these fans have helped Gotham Garage and its team to garner such notoriety in the classic car space and beyond, the garage is still in business to this day.
How popular is Car Masters: Rust to Riches really?
The Car Masters: Rust to Riches show first premiered on Netflix in 2018, and even though the premise of the team at Gotham Garage and their unique approach to flipping classic cars was interesting enough to get audiences intrigued initially, Car Masters: Rust to Riches has also been the subject of a lot of criticism for the scripted nature of the show.
However, despite the controversies surrounding the show, it has been renewed by Netflix for a total of four seasons so far and has managed to attract a strong group of loyal fans.
Car Masters: Rust to Riches – Is Gotham Garage still in business?
Gotham Garage is at the centre of Car Masters: Rust to Riches and its controversies, as the backdrop location where most of the building and planning for the new project in every episode takes place.
The show follows Mark Towle and his team at the Gotham Garage as they seemingly pull off fantastical feats transforming run-down classic cars that are only worth a couple of hundreds of dollars.
They flip these cars into unique pieces of art, often by building custom parts themselves and then selling these cars for higher and higher profits every time.
However, the actual value and quality of the Gotham Garage builds have been a topic of debate among the Car Masters: Rust to Riches fans and critics since the start of the show.
This is part of what has made many people curious about whether the Gotham Garage is still in business after the fourth season of the show ended on 27 July 2022, with no news about a renewal for a fifth season from Netflix as of yet.
Fortunately for fans of the garage’s craftsmanship, the Gotham Garage official website confirms that the business is “Now Open” and from Gotham Garage’s posts on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, it is clear that they are still working hard and appearing at events like the Canyon Lake Classic Car Show or promoting the show to their online followers.
Who owns Gotham Garage?
Mark Towle is not only the man in charge when the cameras are rolling, but he actually owns Gotham Garage in real life.
Mark and the garage’s story has humble beginnings, as Mark had to save the money that he was making building props and cars for movie sets when he was younger in order to finally open Gotham Garage in 1998.
Mark has been in the classic car business for over 35 years, and he has a reputation for being a master fabricator and car designer, which is likely part of what prompted Netflix to create the show to begin with.
Where is Gotham Garage located?
Mark Towle is a California native, and it follows that he would build his dream business in the same area in which he first got involved in the classic car scene.
If you are an avid watcher of the Car Masters: Rust to Riches show, then you may have seen the beautiful landscapes of Riverside County in the background of some of the episodes.
This is because Gotham Garage, where most of the scenes in the show are filmed on location, is at 41979 Rio Nedo Road in Temecula.
Is Gotham Garage a real business?
It is evident that although Gotham Garage and the team, including Mark Towle and other cast members, such as Shawn Pilot, Constance Nunes, Tony Quinones, and Michael “Caveman” Pyle, gained notoriety from the Car Masters: Rust to Riches series, Gotham Garage was a successful and established business way before the show premiered on Netflix.
Gotham Garage has existed for over two decades and it is well known in the classic car space for creating unique and creative builds from cars that few other garages would even touch.
Furthermore, even though the business has now branched out to include merchandise sales on their website, they are still a real, operating garage and car shop.
Gotham Garage also still accepts new commissions to overhaul and rebuild classic cars and is still involved in building props and cars for film and television sets to this day.
