Family ties keep auto shop running

Jonathan Axselle puts in too many hours at work with his father to hang out with his friends very much.

"I've always enjoyed working," he said. "It's kept me out of trouble."

He works for his dad, David Axselle, at Axselle Auto Service in the Lakeside area of Henrico County near Bryan Park. The full-service shop was started by David's late father, Ed, in 1951.

"Dad is an honest man," said Jonathan, 21. "He would do anything he could for you."

His father calls him every work day at 6:30 a.m. to rouse him for work, and he brings coffee for his son and others at the shop every morning. "An extra-large cup," Jonathan said.

"We see each other all day every day," David said. "It's a lot of time together."

People confuse them on the phone. "We talk alike. We have the same tone and attitude," Jonathan said.

But they have their differences.

"He's done things a certain way for 40 years," Jonathan said about his father. "I want to bring us into the modern era."

They don't use paper work tickets anymore. They order parts by computer, not over the phone. They send e-mails to customers reminding them to get their cars serviced.

"I don't resist," David said. "It's just different."

Jonathan worked at the shop every summer since he was 13. So did his sister, Annie, and brother, Dack, but they became teachers.

The business stuck with Jonathan.

"In a family business, you find out early -- you love it or you know," David, 58, said. "It's long hours. It's dirty work.

"This is my retirement plan," David added, putting his hand on Jonathan's shoulder. "I'm at the twilight of my career. He's at the beginning."

When will he hand over the business?

"When I get to my mother's age," David said with a smile.

His mother, "Granny" to all in the family and the original bookkeeper, is 91 and still on the payroll.

Contact Carol Hazard at (804) 775-8023 or .