For the first time in almost two years, the staff at Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair have a permanent shop to work out of, with running water and plenty of space.
It's a big change. The tornado that struck Jefferson City on May 22, 2019, damaged more than just the repair shop - it damaged all 11 buildings on the Braun complex, destroying three of the Braun Storage units and the auto shop itself.
"Thirty-three percent of the facility was about left," Alan Braun said. "We had to fix a lot of things."
A temporary shop was quickly opened by early August 2019, but Braun said in fall of that year he was concerned the rebuild could go into 2022, given the availability of area construction companies.
"Here we are, less than two years later, and I would say 85 percent of the facilities are rebuilt back," Braun said. "Everything's really good."
Braun said they learned some lessons during the rebuild process, including not to trust out-of-town contractors who seemingly show up right after disaster strikes. They learned fast the price tag on those quickly offered services would not be worth it, he said, and decided to work only with local companies.
"It was high pressure," Braun recalled of those initial sales calls.
"It could have been real bad. Thankfully, we learned that lesson within a couple days."
Braun said the contractors they worked with were great and able to save more of the existing structures than Braun had initially thought would be possible.
"We're very blessed to be finally back in here," Braun said. "It's nice to have room."
The temporary shop was basically a storage unit, Braun said, and having three people working in it at one time was often difficult. Plus, it had no running water, which is an extreme difficulty in a repair shop. Braun said he was often going from store to store throughout the area to get sanitizing wipes for the shop when there were limits on the amount customers could buy.
Another benefit of moving into the newly rebuilt shop - indoor plumbing.
Braun said given the plunging temperatures this week and last week, the staff is incredibly glad to be back in a fully equipped facility.
More than anything, Braun is grateful for the community that has stood by the business and helped make sure it survived the tornado damage. His father opened the business in the late 1960s, he said, and that has helped build a community of loyal customers.
"We're thankful for the community support," Braun said, noting how area organizations came to the site with volunteers to help clean up after the tornado. "We even had several customers that came down with their families and spent a day or two. They're all part of the family."
There are still more buildings to rebuild, which Braun hopes to get started this spring, but that depends on available lumber, and Braun noted supplies have been tough to find as COVID-19 outbreaks have affected supply lines in multiple industries.
Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair can be reached at 573-635-5258 or at braunautorepair.com.
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