The roots of PAK’S Garage go way back.
Learn a little bit of the history below. If you’d like to learn more, the Port Austin History Center has great information on our property as well as the whole Port Austin Area. Be sure to check them out if you haven’t before.
In the beginning….
1943-1950
…there were scooters & bikes
In 1943 Coaster Craft built the original facility to manufacture scooters and wagons. The business was sold in 1948 to Universal Cycle and they cranked out over 400 bicycles a day for shipment all across the United States.
The Salvo Years
1950-2007
Salvo Tool & Engineering Co.
Owner Leo Bedker chose this site for his second facility while on a fishing trip to the area and employed many local citizens for 57 years. This facility was closed but they’re still in business!
To learn more of their history, please visit their website.
If you’re in the market for some thread rolling machinery, check that out while you’re there. 👷
Photo courtesy of Wilson Studio Inc – Bad Axe, MI
Unloved & Blighted
2007-2018
SHE NEEDS SOME TLC
After the closing of the Salvo facility, the building & grounds lay dormant for several years, used only as a storage facility.
During that time, many of the windows were broken out, the roof began to fail, and it was in all-around need of repair.
NEW LIFE WITH A NOD TO HISTORY
2018-?
PAK’S GARAGE
Purchased by the Boyle family in 2018, the facility has undergone gradual fixes while being used as storage and parking for their nearby kayak rental business and waterfront restaurant.
During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, Chris and his dad Terry decided it was time to do a full renovation of the property and started working to fix it up. Thus, PAK’S Garage was born!
One of the cornerstone businesses of PAK’S Garage is a full service bike shop offering sales, repairs, and rentals…a nod to the origins of the facility.
Here’s to another 50+ years of business in Port Austin! 🍻