by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Aaron Thiele is happy about his new home in Sauk Rapids – the home of his business, that is.
Thiele is about to celebrate his first year of business as Thiele and Sons Automotive of Sauk Rapids. He’s already begun to celebrate because last Tuesday he renewed the lease on the building at 519 N. Benton Drive, just north of the Dairy Queen.
“I love this location in Sauk Rapids,” he said. “It’s so visible, and I’ve been so busy since moving here.”
Thiele is the sole employee of his business, working 12-hour days and sometimes longer, five days a week and some Saturdays by appointment only.
Raised in Montrose, Minn., Thiele, 33, studied mechanics at Anoka-Hennepin Technical College, then finished his second year of studies at Lake Superior Technical College, Duluth, where he earned his degree in auto mechanics.
Thiele and Sons is an all-purpose shop, and there are very few things Thiele cannot do or fix. He even sells tires and fixes them, something that many automotive-repair shops don’t do much anymore. He also installs and repairs air-conditioning units in vehicles, overhauls transmissions and does virtually any kind of repair on every kind of vehicle. In addition to all of that, he also has a U-Haul business on his lot.
For years, Thiele had his business at his home near Little Rock Lake south of Rice. It was called Aaron’s Repair and Towing. Then, for a year before setting up business in Sauk Rapids, he rented a building in Clearwater and did his work there.
Of all the things he can do, Thiele said he is probably proudest of his steering and suspension work.
The building that Thiele leases was once Seager’s Auto Repair, owned and operated for more than 30 years by Jack and Dan Seager. Then for four or five years before Thiele decided to lease it, it was the site of Car Care Specialists.
“The best thing I like about my job is finding problems and seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they find out I fixed the problems,” he said.
Thiele and his wife, Alicia, have been married for 10 years and have three boys: Isaac, Bryson and Cody. The name of his new business has nothing to do with his sons, however. He found that Thiele’s Automotive is not an uncommon name for shops throughout the state and nation, and so Thiele decided to add “and Sons” just to differentiate himself from the other ones.
He, his wife and sons plan to do a little party at the shop soon to celebrate his first – and very successful – year of business in Sauk Rapids.
Thiele and Sons Automotive is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and Saturdays by appointment only. Its number is 320-774-2016.
Aaron Thiele, proud owner of Thiele and Sons Automotive in Sauk Rapids, works on a valve-cover gasket in the engine of a Bronco. Thiele is happy after a year in Sauk Rapids, the new location with such high visibility on Benton Drive has brought him so much new business.
