I've heard this place is for sale. After reading this, it's kind of sad.
*
Full-service gas station turns 50
By Paul W. Sullivan
Montgomery Advertiser
On a hot June day, an old attic fan is struggling to keep the air circulating in Tatum's Service Center just as it did 20 years ago. There's still no air conditioning at the gas station and auto repair shop at the corner of Cloverdale and Norman Bridge roads.
Owner Phillip Tatum wipes the sweat off of his forehead. He jokes with head mechanic Jerry Lawrence that if there were any cool air inside, that is where everyone would stand around and no work would get done.
Tatum's still offers service at the pump, something that went out of style decades ago. A lot of other things haven't changed much at Tatum's in its 50 years of business. Some of the store's original shelves are still in place. Tatum argues the tradition that his father, Bill Tatum, started is still in demand by a faithful customer base.
"We have an older clientele and that's the way it has always been done," he said.
Tatum said the station is the oldest family-owned, full-service station in Montgomery. Second-generation owner Phillip Tatum bought the business from his father in 1993. The elder Tatum died July 4, 1997.
Tatum and the service station will share an official celebration of their 50th birthday in September when Tatum turns 50 himself.
That will be fitting. For 37 years, Tatum's life has revolved around the station. He saw his father's commitment to customers reflected in the full-service at the pump. He continued the practice when he took the helm in 1993.
It keeps him busy. When a customer pulls up to one of the full-service pumps, Tatum springs into action. While the gas flows he cleans the windshield and checks the oil, water levels, tire pressure and belts. Tatum is right about how much the service means to so many of the patrons.
Retired telephone company employee Eloise Downey, a regular, drove in to Tatum's on Monday morning. She's been enjoying the service and friendliness for about 14 years, she said.
"I like the nice manners," she said. "I don't think they will rip you off. I buy all my gas here because they still have full service."
She added that Tatum's also does some of her car repair work.
But it's the full-service attention at the pumps that keeps people talking. Especially college students and those dropping in from outside the city, Tatum said.
"We are the last of a dying breed," he said.
Lawrence said that nearby college students, among his youngest customers, are the most surprised by a service station attendant who fills up cars, washes windows, checks fluid and air levels, and even says, "Hello, how you doing?"
"They are amazed. They have never seen it before," he said.
Both men admit that although Tatum's hasn't changed, the city has. Most of the station's business now comes from car repairs as the city shifts east, they contend. Tatum pointed to Norman Bridge Road and reminisced about how busy it once was as a major artery through the city.
The traffic has waned, one of the most significant changes Tatum has witnessed.
Another is the complicated nature of repairing cars since computers were added to vehicles. Things were simpler when his father ran the shop he said.
"In the old days, dad would be coming home from church and see someone on the side of the road and get out and clean off the points and get them going again," he said.
Now, Lawrence and the other certified mechanics receive training to learn how to fix cars that roll into the shop. Tatum and Lawrence are quick to say they'll match or beat any repair estimate in town.
He wipes his brow while the old fan blows, and Tatum smiles, adding that the station specializes in air-conditioning repair.
Norman Azar, left, sits in his vehicle Monday as Phillip Tatum pumps gas and Jerry Ward cleans the windshield during a stop at Tatum's Service Center at the corner of Cloverdale and Norman Bridge roads.
Location: 402 Cloverdale Road
Owner: Phillip Tatum
Phone number: 264-9817
Hours of operation: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to noon Saturday
Type of business: Full-service gas station, vehicle repair and road service
When did it open? 1957
Number of employees: Four
Phillip Tatum deals with paperwork after receiving parts at his gas station.
Jerry Ward works on the air-conditioning unit of a customer's car.
Prev
Linear Mode
