The Repair Company celebrates 50 years on Madison Avenue

Plain Press, March 2021         In February, Sandy Bozak, owner of The Repair Company at W. 103^rd and Madison, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of her company. At a February 4^th ceremony, Ward 15 Cleveland City Council Representative Jenny Spencer presented Sandy Bozak with a Council Resolution of Congratulations marking the 50^th Anniversary of this female owned auto repair and rental business. Spencer paid tribute to this legacy business, one of the oldest continually operating businesses on Madison Avenue.

     Jay Westbrook, who served for many years as City Council Representative for this stretch of Madison Avenue in the Cudell Improvement service area, has high praise for Bozak. Speaking about Bozak and her company, Westbrook wrote in an email to the Plain Press, “Female owner, Sandy Bozak, is the owner and a certified mechanic. Even though she manages the business affairs, scheduling and flow of repairs and rentals, she can drop into a bay at any moment to assist with a diagnosis or guide a repair. Sandy and her husband Tim are multi-skilled business leaders.”

     Sandy Bozak says she opened the business, then named Glenn’s Sunoco, on February 15, 1971 with her first husband Glenn Rayner. Sandy Bozak says when Glenn’s Sunoco first opened that area of Madison Avenue was teeming with workers from nearby companies providing industrial jobs. She rattled off the names of about a half dozen companies active at that time including Midland Steel and the Kelly Plating Company. Bozak says there were so many workers in the area that there weren’t enough parking places. She said Glenn’s Sunoco, in addition to filling workers gas tanks, would rent parking spaces to help provide overflow parking for Midland Steel employees.

      In 1974, a few years after opening the business, Sandy and her husband Glenn moved to W. 103 to live right down the block from their business. In 1976 she says they bought the building where their business is located. In the mid 1980s she said the name of the company was changed from Glenn’s Sunoco to The Repair Company. Sandy, always involved in the business, decided to become a certified automobile mechanic, and entered into Cuyahoga Community College’s Automotive program to get her degree and certification.

     Sandy Bozak says she remarried in 1997 to Tim Bozak. In 2001 they added Rent-a-Wreck to their business.

     Former Councilman Westbrook noted that Sandy and Tim Bozak were part of a small group of business owners that founded the Madison Merchants Association. Westbrook said, “The Association, teamed with the community development organization Cudell Improvement, was a pioneer in community-based safety initiatives. They funded an off-duty police officer walking a beat and they established a comprehensive network of video surveillance that is credited with numerous arrests, including an arrest and conviction for armed robbery and an arrest for murder.”

     Sandy says the security and video cameras are Tim’s project. Tim Bozak says they are still involved in the video security program. He recalls it started in about 2011.

     Westbrook also praised Sandy and Tim for their involvement in their neighborhood. Westbrook said, “Sandy and Tim live in the nearby neighborhood and have worked with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and the Cleveland Tree Commission to plant some 50 trees on W. 103rd, a residential street between Madison and I-90.”

Editor’s Note: The Plain Press is also celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year. If you have a story you would like to share with Plain Press readers that involves the history of a neighborhood served by the Plain Press, call the Plain Press at 216-621-3060 or send an email to: plainpress@gmail.com.