By Liz Page
STAMFORD – Before the last ember was doused, Mike Kiel and Marty Cole (M & M) were promising to rebuild their business. It has taken a lot of hard work, sweat and tears, but the date is set for June 15 from to reopen the doors at M & M Motors and More. There will be free hot dogs and hamburgers from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and an opportunity to walk through and view their new, state of the art digs. It has been 18 months since a devastating fire leveled their business at 6 Beaver Street in Stamford.
The two close friends have been in business since 2018, changing the name from Engelke Tires to its current name. They have been cleaning up and rebuilding since the fire on Nov. 14, 2022. They have spent that time rebuilding a larger, state of the art shop.
The two can't say enough about the support they have received from the community, which has helped them build back in same location. "Half the reason we are still standing is that the community as a whole supported us. It was overwhelming," said Kiel. "I still can't believe how much support we received. I'm sure its that local support that has allowed us to rebuild on this very spot. It was cool to be able to put a shop back in this location."
Both have been tinkering on vehicles since they were old enough to hold tools in their hands. Now they are anxious to get back into the fold of working on vehicles and finally set the construction tools they have been wielding for the past 18 months aside. The two weeks before their reopening gives them an opportunity to get their mechanic "mo-jo" back and learn what's new over the past 18 months.
"We are fortunate. We had a great insurance policy and the fact we did all of the construction work ourselves helped us make it a little bit bigger." Family members chipped in to help with the construction as well.
"We have the most advanced diagnostics you can get," said Cole and they know how to use them. While they were waiting for materials to arrive, or there was a lull in construction, they took courses. Both are taking a course on a computer-based learning system that can teach everything from the very basics to electric cars and provide certifications. "We are not afraid of the electronics."
They installed every inch of the 11,000 feet of tubing for the radiant heating in the shop and large office, conference room, waiting room and kitchenette. They have several lifts and working stations and computers for whatever they are doing. They can also do computer programming.
They do mechanical repairs on everything. They also do inspections, alignments, air conditioning work, engine replacement and transmission replacement. They are outfitters for Weather Tech and Rough Country, which Cole calls all kinds of vehicle accessories to outfit whatever. They can customize your ride.
They are back with U-Haul rentals, which they are doing now, and they can do fleet maintenance and all aspects of car care. They will not, however, be doing tires although they will do balancing with a state of the art computerized balancing machine. They also do motorcycle and medium duty truck inspections.
In the future they would like to add a mechanic and another secretary to help their "shop mom" Christy Wright. She's the one who keeps them on track and she is the pleasant voice on the phone.
They are very anxious to get back into the swing of things in their new building and are already looking to add other items and dealers in the future.
They say they have a long list of Thank Yous to make which helped them to achieve the goal they set just after the fire. As soon as the tears stopped, they beginning to feel the push of the entire community behind them to rebuild the business that sold and installed truck caps, side steps and slides, as well as doing mechanical repairs and offering U-Haul rentals.
They realized after setting the reopening party date that it coincides with the Hay Days at Eklunds Farm Machinery. "We didn't plan it that way, but his time of year there is always so much going on," said Kiel.
Eklunds is at the top of their thank you list. A benefit spaghetti dinner was held to help raise money with the community realizing their livelihood would be impacted. Here's the thank you list: Oneonta Garage Doors; Eklund Farm Machinery; Hermann Engineering; George Haynes; TPs Cafe´;Mac-A- Doodles; the Stamford Fire Department; Don VanEtten; Rich Irwin; Tom, Carl and Jeremy Hanselman; Bachmann Brand; Brent Trimbell at Lasting Impressions; Sean Land; Drogen Electric; Gerry Moore and Carol;Stamford NAPA; VAS; Railroad Ave. Supply (Ace); Kelley Farm and Garden; Bonnie Bachmann of Pixel Box; Josh Wietzner; Eric Peterson; Connor Alwine of Alwine's Trucking; Sunrise Heating; Darren Hanway and Mark Wolf.
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