Lou's Garage calling WB home for 71 years
Oct. 30—WILKES-BARRE — Lou's Garage has been a part of the downtown community for 71 years and, aside from a move just across the street, has maintained its location for the duration of that time.
Lou Dal Santo Jr. and his brother, Chris, run the show these days, however, it was their father, Lou Sr., who opened the family business all those years ago. While Chris worked on some of the vehicles in the garage, Lou Jr. spent some time telling their story to a reporter.
Located at 80 E. North St., just across from Turkey Hill on Pennsylvania Ave., Dal Santo Jr. explained, "We were originally on the corner where the Turkey Hill is. (Since) 1951, we had a Mobil Gas Station there for 26 years, and then the redevelopment was going to put in the Cross Valley by way of North Street, so they bought up that property, eminent domain. We owned property over here and we built the new garage in '76."
Dal Santo Jr. estimated about 75% of their business comes from vehicles sales, while the remaining 25% is through maintenance and repair services.
"We've been Volkswagen since the 60s, and then Honda has been our specialty for the last 40 years," Dal Santo Jr. said. "We're primarily import sales. So, late model, high-end, high-quality imports," as well as the aforementioned maintenance and repairs.
Of course, as with so many businesses, Lou's had to endure the storm that was the pandemic, however, Dal Santo Jr. explained that it wasn't all that bad. "We still were able to keep our heads above water," he remarked, though he did say business cut about 40%. "We were an essential industry, so we stayed open the whole time and strangely enough, you know, we didn't lose money ... we essentially sell peoples' second most expensive item that they buy in their lives."
As 2022 winds down, he said it's been an okay year, and that's, well, it's okay.
"The other part of it is that my brother and I are both sort of slowing down a little bit, so that also helps the fact that we, you know, we are not retiring, but we're nearing retirement. We're slowly retiring and the pandemic has definitely accelerated that process. But for us, where we are in our sort of stage of business, it's not the worst thing. I mean, if we were much earlier in the process, it would be very bad," he said.
Lou Jr. has been with the business for 40 years, not counting the time he spent there as a child sweeping floors and helping out where he could.
"It's been a very important part of my entire family. It's sustained my entire family, which is huge. There's eight brothers and sisters, and it's been beneficial to all of them," he noted, and added later that it was through his father's "foresight and hard work that it's got to where it's at today."
He also noted the importance of being a part of the community.
"We have a lot of people locally that use us to either buy from us or get their cars repaired and to get their basic maintenance or whatever automotive needs they have. We've been very sort of user-friendly to the community. We've always been friendly with everybody. ... We've seen it change over the years but we've always been community friendly and we feel like we've benefited it and it has benefited us," Dal Santo Jr. remarked.
And to that community, he added, "We thank them for being a part of our lives and for being a part of this."
There's no word yet on when Lou's Garage will hang it up. With a laugh, Lou Jr. quipped, "We've had a two-year plan for 10 years!"
According to their website, www.lousgarage.com, the garage is currently open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The phone number is listed as 570-825-3368. Inventory and a full list of services can also be accessed through the website.
