Rehoboth Auto Repair ownership changes hands

After more than three decades in business, Rehoboth Auto Repair has changed hands and is now employee owned.

Located on the northbound side of the Forgotten Mile, just east of the bridge crossing the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, the vehicle repair shop was founded by Richard and Stephanie Marsch in 1991.

Katerina Cai, who serves as president of the repair shop, said the transition to an employee-owned business took place about six months ago.

The business partnered with Teamshares, a company specifically designed to help transition small businesses from a single owner to employee owned. Cai said there are a lot of small businesses that don’t have a plan for when the original owners decide to move on. This company helps with that transition, she said.

The transition to employee ownership can be difficult, because a lot of the time the employees just want to do good work and get paid for it, said Cai. It can be intimidating to take on the ownership role, but it becomes easier once employees learn how the finances work, she said.

“It takes a lot to run a small business,” said Cai. “This puts the fate of the business back in the hands of the employees.”

The repair shop has eight service bays, eight technicians and a total of 16 employees, said Cai. Several employees have been around for a long time, she said.

Rehoboth Auto Repair is her first repair shop, but this is the second time Cai has worked with Teamshares. With the help of the other employees, she said she’s confident the business will continue to be successful.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” said Cai, adding there are 225,000 auto repair shops in the United States. “This shop is already running very well.”

Rehoboth Auto Repair, 20669 Coastal Hwy., is open 7:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday. For more information, email rehobothautorepair@gmail.com or call 302-227-0633. The company website, rehobothautorepair.com, is being constructed, but will be up and running soon.