When Matt Yeager took over as manager of Belmont Garage two years ago, the front office had dingy white walls, crud-crusted linoleum and metal cabinets that were outdated and unused. It took him almost two years to talk second-generation shop owner Ray Lewis into jazzing the place up. "You should have seen this place before," Yeager said.
Now the brick walls are painted a calming yellow ochre. Black-and-white ceramic tiles have replaced the repugnant linoleum. And oak veneer filing drawers stand in place of the ugly metal cabinets. An antique display case, which a customer sold the shop, makes an inviting service counter. Yeager cleaned up an old metal Pennsylvania Oil Co. sign with the shop’s name and 1950s phone number — TA 3-3836 — and hung it prominently in the office. All together, it gives the shop, which services new and vintage cars, a retro feel. "That’s what we were going for here," Yeager said. "Customers feel comfortable in here and they get to see the history of the garage and they can see our contributions to the community. This is who we are and people should see it."
Yeager also convinced Lewis to renovate the garage’s vintage neon sign, although the clock doesn’t work yet because he hasn’t found an old motor for it. He’s also working on fixing up a vintage Coca-Cola machine for the office. "You don’t make any money off of that, but everybody will get to come in here and use it and people will dig it," he said. They are planning to renovate the garage bays next year.
