Located, according to owner Brent McNabb, in “beautiful, downtown Wescosville,” McNabb’s Automotive Repair shop recently marked 60 years of service. With music by CAT Country 96 and plenty of great food, the McNabb family, friends, and customers joined in the celebration.

In 1958, during a layoff from Air Products, Allen McNabb and his wife Mary Ann embarked on a new business venture. The couple bought a small Sunoco gas station and service garage at the intersection of Hamilton Boulevard and Brookside Road. Eventually, their company expanded to include a second facility across the street, the current 4948 Hamilton Blvd. site. As the area developed, McNabb’s adjusted their service to meet new challenges.

In 1983, the original station was razed to accommodate the widening of the intersection. Consequently, the family expanded the remaining facility. Allen and Mary Ann McNabb’s son Brent and his wife Cindy assumed ownership of the company in 1997.

Brent McNabb learned the business from the ground up and was a full-time employee by the time he turned 18. Cindy, whose current role as office manager includes advertising, bookkeeping and sometimes working the counter, met her husband when her brother was employed by Brent’s parents. The couple married in 1981.

The McNabbs raised two children, Gabriel and Allison (nee McNabb) Thompson. Both reside in the area. Gabriel works as a master technician in the family business; Allison teaches at St. Luke’s School of Nursing. Gabriel began working with his father and then attended the Universal Technical Institute. Father and son stay current with changes in the automotive field by attending classes offered by their suppliers.

As operators of a family run service station, the McNabbs have had some unexpected encounters. Brent’s favorite story concerns two different sets of bank robbers who were arrested when they stopped to buy gas. They failed to fill their cars’ tanks before making their getaways. Cindy laughs about the male streaker who dashed by only to be arrested by a female state trooper.

Brent and Cindy McNabb have no plans to retire because in Cindy McNabb’s words, “We love our customers.”

Over the years, the business has evolved from a gas station and service garage to a fulltime service station. The original McNabbs passed ownership to the second generation, and a grandson is now actively involved. Colton, Gabriel and Shelby McNabb’s young son, may eventually become the fourth generation family member to participate in the business.

McNabb’s Automotive Repair is a family concern with a strong past and a bright future.