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PERIMETER BUSINESS
DAN WHI5ENHUNT
From left, three brothers, Eric, Rod and Brian McCullough, run the
car shop McCullough AutoCare, continuing their father’s legacy.
Family-owned auto business
takes a personal interest
By Hilary Butschek
Continuing their father's lega
cy, the three McCullough brothers
— Eric, Rod and Brian — now run
McCullough AutoCare in Sandy
Springs.
Their business focuses broadly on
car repair, offering services
ranging from a standard oil
change to emissions testing
to more complicated auto
repairs.
"We've been blessed
with expert technicians, and we
work on pretty much everything,"
Eric said. "From headlight to tail-
light, we do it all."
The family business began in 1969
with "$1,200 and a lot of ambition,"
Eric said. At one time, the family
owned five shops in the Atlanta area.
"[My father] and I partnered
when I was 18," Eric said. "We all
grew up in the business, working
weekends and summers. I actually
decided not to go away to school to
stay in the family business. I went to
Georgia State."
In 2003, Eric bought out his fa
ther's company and trimmed the
family business to a single location.
Built in the 1960s, the McCullough
repair shop at 5810 Roswell Road
looks as if it belongs in the era of ver
satile car repair shops operated out
of gas stations.
But the unused gas pumps now
serve only as obstacles to the cars
shuffling around the crowded park
ing lot.
The trio of brothers learned ev
erything there was to know about
cars by hanging around their fa
ther's shops on weekends and dur
ing breaks from school. Eric said his
father still serves as a mentor and
source of advice in the business.
On any given work day, the three
McCulloughs are seated at the helm
of the garage. As customers walk in,
they are greeted by name. The broth
ers chat back and forth, checking on
customers and taking time to talk
with each person, asking about their
families and their lives.
"We take a personal interest," Eric
said. "We're not a sales organization
disguised as a repair shop. We know
what's going on in their
lives just like they know
what's going on in ours."
The brothers show good
humor between each other
with lighthearted jokes and
teasing.
"Rod is the bad cop," Eric said.
"When we all play good cop, bad
cop, Rod is the bad cop."
"That's right," Rod said. "My fa
vorite part of my job is abusing the
employees."
"Even his dogs are scared of him,"
Eric added.
Working on cars together has been
a constant in all three brothers' lives.
"I get to see my brothers 12 hours a
day, and not many people get to do
that," Brian said.
The family at McCullough's is
bigger than blood would show. "We
have great employees," Rod said.
"They're really fun to work with,
and most everyone is like our ex
tended family."
Among the brothers, Eric assumes
command, giving orders to check up
on a certain car or call up a customer.
His brothers often seem a step ahead.
The whole process is designed to
keep in contact with customers to
make sure they're informed.
A customer of three years, Keri
Randal, said she took a chance with
the shop when she first moved into
Sandy Springs and was pleased with
the personable atmosphere.
"You know, it's kind of iffy pick
ing a mechanic, especially for a fe
male," she said. "But, they're real
ly good at explaining whatever the
problem is. I do like that."
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