Auto repair shop celebrating 44 years of business in eastern Idaho
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IDAHO FALLS
Owner of auto repair shop looks back on four decades of business
IDAHO FALLS – Carrying on what his father started has been Brett Spaulding’s passion for the last eight years.
The 58-year-old Idaho Falls man is the owner of Sage Creek Repair, an auto repair business at 1870 South Yellowstone Highway. This year marks 44 years of operation for the shop and eight years since the death of Spaulding’s father, Dale.
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Brett points to a photo of Dale hanging on the wall near the front desk of the main entrance. It shows Dale smiling with grease all over his face. For Brett, it conjures up a memory he holds close to his heart.
“That was one of the last times my dad worked here (before he died),” Brett says. “He was under an 18-wheeler changing a clutch. He was 75 … and he outworked all of my technicians that week. He always outworked everybody. That was his nature.”
That kind of work ethic is one of many things Brett has learned from his dad. As he looks back on how he got here, he’s grateful for the values his father instilled in him.
“Honesty and integrity,” says Brett. “Doing what is right for all parties concerned. Keeping the name in good standing is important. In this industry, there’s plenty of work and it’s important to develop relationships with other shops. He got along with most shops and I still carry that with me today.”
How it got started
Dale launched Sage Creek Repair with his brother-in-law, Linden Butikofer, in 1979. It originally opened inside the Sage Lakes Golf Course maintenance building off East River Road. The business got its name from an old school that operated in that area for many years. It was designed for mentally challenged students, Brett says.
It later moved to the building directly across from its current location on Yellowstone Highway.
Brett says it was a natural fit for his dad to open an auto repair shop. Dale grew up on a farm in Thornton and “he was the guy who always fixed everything.”
“He was the guy who would take things apart and put them back together and take them apart again to try to figure out (how it worked),” Brett says. “When he got older, he eventually went into the Navy and that’s where he got his formal training.”
Dale worked for a construction battalion unit at Kodiac Island in San Diego for four years. After returning home, he worked at Broadway Ford and International Harvester for a time before working as a vehicle repairman for a local dairy.
“He created a name for himself all over the valley by having to fix things out of the shop, going to different part stores, going to different dealers and people meeting him over the years,” says Brett. “There are so many people today that knew him and have nothing but good things to say about him.”
The dairy eventually went out of business, but the owner gave all his tools to Dale. That’s when he approached Butikofer about opening the auto repair shop.
Brett says it’s been a general repair shop from the beginning.
“He did tractors and farm equipment. One of his first contracts was the old Mountain Bell phone company,” Brett recalls.
Dale had an account with Pepsi for many years as well.
Brett got involved when he was a kid. He remembers riding his bike from the west side of town to his dad’s shop to help out where he could.
“Wrenching wasn’t my cup of tea like it was his,” Brett explains. “I was much more into sports and athletics and I didn’t have the patience to figure things out like he did.”
Brett and his wife, April, lived in Utah for several years while he attended college. They moved back in 2000 when he got a job as a service advisor at Sage Creek Repair. The business moved to its current location that same year.
Dale was 78 when he died of prostate cancer in 2015. Brett took over as owner a short time later.
Carrying on Dale’s legacy
Sage Creek Repair is still a family-owned business. Brett and his wife are partners in the company, along with his son, Dale Jr. and daughter, Nicole Joseph.
Though there have been technological advances in the way they work and the types of vehicles they work on, Brett says the values his dad instilled in him are still relevant.
“You’re not a grease monkey now,” says Brett. “There are guys like that who we need … but you have to be pretty smart with electronics and computers. It’s really hard to find good help today, no matter what industry you’re in.”
The thing that’s most fulfilling to Brett is taking care of his employees and providing a place where they enjoy coming to work everyday.
Brett would like to see one of his kids take over the business one day. But for now, he’s just happy to carry on the name and reputation his father built.
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