Auto Gallery celebrates 10 years in Lewes
Auto Gallery owner Bryan Hecksher is celebrating 10 years in his Lewes business. At the tender age of 15, Hecksher was fascinated by automobile hubcaps, scarfing them up from the side of the road and stockpiling them in his parents' garage. Word spread around his home town of Lester, Pa., that Hecksher's was the place to find those missing wheel covers, and the youthful entrepreneur was more than happy to oblige. Money talks, nobody walks. Business was so profitable that he continued to serve as the local hubcap maven until he was 22 years old. When he was in school, he paid his mom 50 percent commission on every piece sold. When he finally closed up shop, the collection filled three 18-wheel tractor trailers.
After graduating from high school, Hecksher made a beeline to the local Chrysler dealer to buy his first car. Perhaps because of his age, the salesperson was offhanded and rude. Not particularly known for his shyness, Hecksher marched himself into the manager's office and complained loudly. The manager eyed the young upstart and said, "Okay, if you can do a better job, why don't you sell cars for me?" His sales record was so impressive that he was soon hired away by the local Buick dealer. He was so young that their insurance precluded him from driving the demos.
Hecksher longed to make a positive mark on the world. To that end he enrolled in the Administration of Justice program at Delaware County Community College in Delaware County, Pa., joining the police force in 1987. His short career in law enforcement ended when he was hit head-on by a drunk driver, driving a trash truck, yet. Because of his injuries, he could no longer work as a policeman. After a long recuperation, he began a new career as a juvenile corrections officer at the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center. He liked the work, but he never stopped thinking about cars.
From 1992 to 2004, Hecksher moved from car dealer to car dealer, breaking his own sales records everywhere he went. After a few vacations in Rehoboth Beach, he pulled up stakes and moved to the area full time in 2004, taking a job at a local used car lot. Instead of Fords, Buicks and Chryslers, Hecksher was applying his talents to BMWs, Jags, Mercedes and even the occasional Rolls and Bentley. When the dealership changed hands in 2006, his first reaction was to move back to Pennsylvania, but in the spirit of that hubcap-hawking teenager, he opened Auto Gallery on Savannah Road in Lewes. Total inventory on opening day? Four cars. Now look at the place 10 years later!
Auto Gallery contributes to a myriad of local causes. Hecksher provides transportation for celebrities who attend various local charity events, provides trucks for the Equality for Delaware Annual Food Drive and supports Jusst Sooup Ministry. His honesty and straightforward method of dealing has earned him a great reputation. In fact, a number of former locals drive back to the beach just to buy their cars from him.
Hecksher says, "If I treat everybody equally, maybe it will catch on." Those who are fortunate enough to know Bryan Hecksher, as their car dealer or as a friend, know that he means it.
