Business Business Beat: Boat Rides, Sammies and the End of Car Shops Era By Abby Baker
A Heartfelt Farewell to Ahern’s Auto It was 1996 when Jim Ahern opened the doors to Ahern’s Auto Care in South Pasadena and on Friday, January 8, 2021, Janey AhernBrubaker locked them for the last time. “It breaks my heart. I’ve had customers get really upset, but I just wanted to leave on a good note,� Ahern-Brubaker said. “It was this or renew a three-year lease and I just don’t have the heart to.� Frequently decked out in HarleyDavidson gear, Ahern-Brubaker took on the full load of the business, located at 6763 Gulfport Blvd S., when her husband passed away from lung disease in 2017. “He was certainly a fixture here,� Ahern-Brubaker said. “Everyone that comes in here has a good memory of Jim; he’d give people rides home, he’d stop to help anyone on the side
of the road – it didn’t matter.� The pair met in 2005, and AhernBrubaker barely accepted the proposition of a first date because of Ahern’s cigarette habit and lack of a boat. In 2006, they were married. She never imagined she’d have to run their automotive business alone. Ahern-Brubaker had not worked at the shop until Jim’s passing, but with the help of Head Technician Dennis Kerr and Service Manager Sherman May, the show went on. When May passed away in 2018, it left just Ahern-Brubaker and Kerr to run the “always busy� shop alone. “This has just been here a long time,� Kerr said. “Jim and I had a good relationship – I picked on him and he picked on me.� Kerr, who’s worked with the auto shop for the past 22 years, planned to retire in February of this year, and with the ending of the lease, came a final decision.
“I can’t afford to not have Dennis,� Ahern-Brubaker said. “He wanted to retire, I wanted to retire, and I don’t own the land or the building, just the business.� It is the end of a 25-year era of car repairs and community connections. According to Brubaker-Ahern, the owner of 1 Stop Auto & Service signed a lease on the property, though there’s no word yet on an opening date for the new shop. “I gave away the last oil change on Friday for free,� Brubaker-Ahern said. “It’s sad, but we’re leaving on a good note.� Aqua Sol Adventures Cruises into Boca Ciega In December of 2020, former Gulfport Police Department detective Scott Hutsko traded his tactical boots for flip flops and became “Captain Scott� of the charter boat BlueBare. Anchored at the City of Gulfport
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