A broken iPhone no longer requires a trip to Birmingham or weeks waiting on your return package.

Phone Restore held its grand opening Nov. 12. Located across the street from Hokkaido on 15th Street, the store repairs iPhones, iPads, iPods, laptops, other smart phones and anything else they can, said Chris Koerner.

Koerner is founder and owner of Phone Restore, along with Andrew Batteen.

Koerner, a senior majoring in business management and entrepreneurship, said the idea came to him in the spring when he had to deal with a broken phone.

“I had an iPhone and I broke it in May and I was really distraught,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do. I realized I might be able to fix it if I tried, if I tinkered with it.”

Koerner said his success encouraged him to continue learning about repairing iPhones. Entrepreneurship has always been a lifelong dream of his, he said.

“When I was 11 years old, I was selling used golf balls from a Red Rider wagon,” he said.

He said he developed some experience in business working with a rental property and a website that offered students online options for buying textbooks.

Koerner eventually spoke with a friend and fellow church member, Andrew Batteen, about the idea of opening a local store to repair iPhones. Batteen is a Ph.D. student in higher education administration at the University.

Batteen said he and Koerner spent much time before last May discussing business ideas.

“We would go to Barnes and Noble every so often and have brainstorming sessions about ideas and things we could start,” he said.

When Koerner came to him early in the summer with the idea of a repair shop for tech gadgets, Batteen said it made perfect sense.

“We tried a bunch of different ideas and when this one came up, it was like ‘well duh,’” Batteen said. “I’ve always been kind of a fix-it kind of guy. If I break any electronics, I try and research it and find the best way to get it fixed. I never take my car to the mechanic. I try and do that myself.”

The men began an expensive process of trial-and-error to learn how to repair iPhones over the summer, Batteen said.

“It took us breaking iPhones to learn the ins and outs of it,” he said. “In order to fix a screen, we would break an LCD in the process.”

Batteen said the men spent significant time and money working with already broken iPhones.

“We got some broken ones [iPhones] off eBay and we ordered some parts, and we also found that there are a lot of parts floating around as well,” Batteen said.

Koerner said word of their knowledge spread and friends started asking to have them repair their phones.

They worked throughout the summer, maxing out their credit cards and learning everything they could about repairing the products, they said.

On Sept. 9, Phone Restore officially held their soft opening. Koerner said the store reached the point where their revenue covered expenses. They haven’t spent any money to advertise, according to Koerner, relying on word of mouth and fliers on campus.

Both men said the store has been a great success, to the point that they’re already making serious plans for multiple new stores in Birmingham.

“Potentially in January, we’re going to be moving to Birmingham,” Batteen said. “Our goal is really to have five or six stores in a year.”

He said their market research shows that a population of about 100,000 people can support a single store. Birmingham would ideally have several locations to support the city’s large population, while he said they have no plans for additional stores in the smaller market of Tuscaloosa.

“There’s just a big need for it, and we’ve got to get out and get in the market,” Batteen said.

The store itself, located beside Batteries Plus on 15th Street, is bare. Koerner said this is because they have much more space than they need.

“We have a 1,200 square foot space, but we only really need 800 square feet,” he said.

The only products sold in the store are OtterBox cases, because they’re “just the best,” according to Koerner. The store also offers insurance plans for phones.

Koerner helped a customer while being interviewed in the store. The woman needed her “Home” button replaced. The button is one of only four hard buttons on the phone and is crucially important for use.

She said that to have the repairs made by other experts would require an expensive trip to Birmingham or several weeks of waiting for her shipped-off phone to return. Her entire visit lasted 15 minutes from diagnosis to receipt and cost $55.

Koerner said the store only uses the same parts Apple uses, and only from the same suppliers. The same customer asked if her warranty would be voided for going to a third party for repairs.

“The moment you broke it, your warranty’s voided because they [Apple] don’t cover damage,” Koerner replied.

The rapid repair time, an average of 10 to 15 minutes on the counter in front of the customer, is typical for the store, Koerner said.

“We pride ourselves on fixing phones in 5 to 10 minutes, right in front of you,” he said. “We try to be professional and fast so people can just get in, get out and get on with their lives.”

The store is still in its infancy, but both men said they are optimistic about its future.

“Once we get the second store, the third store will be a lot easier,” Batteen said. “We’re documenting everything that it took to get the first store going.”

Koerner, who graduates in May, said it’s a dream come true.

“It’s really awesome to know I won’t have to look for a job,” he said.