Prior to the fire, Ed’s Auto Body & Repair was booked almost solid until March. While many customers with vehicles in need of cosmetic repairs said they’ll wait for the shop to reopen, the Nalewanskis have made a number of referrals to other area shops for those customers with more urgent vehicle concerns.
“We have three generations of customers and they’re all so loyal. I can’t say enough about them, the fire department, our neighbors … the community has just been terrific,” said Joann Nalewanski.
For now, the biggest challenge for Joann Nalewanski continues to be trying to comfort her husband, whom she called her “soulmate.” The couple has been together for 41 years and married for 39.
“Ed was always the first one in and the last one out. Besides me, that was his life,” she said. “To have this happen to him, it’s disheartening to me. I just can’t comfort him enough. He’s broken and upset.”
Ed Nawleski started his business on May 1, 1978, in a single bay on Mechanic Street. Over the years, his wife says he’s continued to pitch in wherever the business needed it, whether it was stepping in for a sick employee wet sanding and buffing a vehicle for a few weeks or staying open to finish a job and offering customers a meal.
Right now, one of his big concerns is the shop’s 10 employees and reopening.
“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “The crew has been with me for so long, they wanna come back and want to reopen. Hopefully it will all fall into place.”
Abby Andrews