When Todd Davey was a little boy growing up in Mattituck, he could be found not at the beach like so many other kids, but in his parents’ garage, working on old cars, trucks, and even lawnmowers.
It was in his blood.
And now Davey is seeing a lifelong dream born as he opens his new business, North Fork Garage, in the former East End Auto Repair building.
The new garage opened in Peconic yesterday.
Davey said in December, his sister told him that the former owner of the shop, Mike Borkowski, was retiring and leaving his Peconic auto repair shop vacant; she sent him a text and said, “This is your chance,” he said.
While he’d been entertaining the idea of opening his own space for years, he’d never found the ideal location.
“When I walked into Mike’s old space for the first time, I immediately got nervous. I knew it was going to be my shop,” Davey said; he put down a deposit the next day.
And now he’s bringing years of experience and education to the proverbial table. A graduate of Toyota’s “T-TEN” technical training program, Davey has spent the past 11 years working as a technician at both a European dealership and and independent shop.
He’s also spent most weekends helping out friends and family members with oil changes and minor repairs.
Mike Velys, senior vice president of REVCO Electric, said Davey’s serviced his fleet of vans and trucks for the past several years, and said he’ll be following him to his new shop.
“Once you have Todd fix one of your vehicles, you never want to use anybody but him,” Velys said. “He’s one of the most honest, hardworking, reliable and skillful guys I’ve met. He can diagnose and fix a problem that most other mechanics would miss.”
Davey, who lives in Riverhead with his wife Rachael and two sons, Wade and Cole, said if the business takes off, his family plans to set down roots further east.
“I want my boys to be able to spend time at the garage with me. And if they’re interested, eventually take over. Wade is already taking apart his toy trucks and trying on my boots. I hope this will be the start of our family business,” Davey said.
Remembering the rich legacy left behind by the man who ran the garage for so many years and forged a lifelong connection with customers, Davey said, “I hope to make Mike proud.”
North Fork Garage is located at 37570 Route 25 in Peconic, behind Ted’s Auto Body. It will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends by appointment. For additional information, call Rachael Davey at 631-960-2491 or email noforepair@gmail.com.
