Long-standing auto shop in the Exchange District getting set to close its doors
J.W. McDonald Auto Service has had a few names over the years but it has always been able to provide vehicle service to Winnipeggers.
But now, the Exchange District staple is gearing down and set to close its doors for good.
Andy Baranowski, the owner of the shop, said now is the right time to close things up and move on to the next chapter of his life.
"I just decided I should pull the plug and spend more time by myself and with my wife and go do some travelling, instead of working on everybody's cars," said Baranowski.
Andy Baranowski inside J. W. McDonald Auto Service before it closes. (Source: Jamie Dowsett/CTV News)
According to the Manitoba Historical Society, the business at 189 Bannatyne Avenue opened up in 1923 under the name Blackie & Price. It was owned by Arthur Blackie and John Price.
In the 1930s, the name changed to Blackie & Douglas and in 1948, the current building was built.
In the late 50s, the business turned into Handfield Motors after Roland Handfield acquired it. Then in the early 60s, John W. McDonald took over the business, giving the garage its current name.
Baranowski said he worked under McDonald and in 1987 bought the garage from him and has been in charge ever since.
Recently, he said someone approached him to buy the building, and although the deal fell through, it got him thinking about moving on from the business.
A sign for J. W. McDonald Auto Service. (Source: Jamie Dowsett/CTV News)
"I'm getting too old and getting too close to 70."
The garage will close down either at the end of this week or the first week of July.
Baranowski said he is still the owner of the building and hopes the right offer comes along that will give the area something it needs.
"I would like to see a little grocery store come in here. They need that down in the Exchange here…it would be a real improvement for the neighbourhood."
A Rolls Royce being worked on inside J. W. McDonald Auto Service. (Source: Jamie Dowsett/CTV News)
'IT'S HARD TO PULL AWAY FROM THE CUSTOMERS'
While Baranowski is ready to move on in life, he said it will still be difficult to part ways with those he helped over the years, adding he has serviced vehicles for generations of the same family.
"It's hard to pull away from the customers that you have been dealing with all these years. You know them all, everybody is like a friend, they are more than a customer. That's the hard part; the actual physical working part of it is not hard to move away from."
He said his customers are happy to hear that he is retiring, even though they are sad to see him go.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.