NAPA Auto shop rolls open its doors in Petersburg

Outside the brand-new facility on South Nordic Drive, the scent of grilling burgers and hotdogs lingers in the air as community members stream through the 16-foot bay doors of High Tide Auto.

Close to two hundred people dropped by to congratulate Wes and Angie Davis and have a look inside their brand-new NAPA auto service center, according to Kimberly Simbahon who was dropping visitors' names into a blue bucket for the door prize drawings.

"It's been a little stressful," Angie admitted, describing the final push to opening day. "We were here till nine o'clock last night ... the guys have been here seven o'clock in the morning to 7-8-9 o'clock at night, every night."

The 3,700-square-foot facility on South Nordic Drive has been under construction since September, though planning began much earlier. "It took a year and a half to get plans right," Wes told the Pilot. The building features 18-foot ceilings and 16-foot bay doors, 14 feet wide to accommodate larger boats on trailers, heavy equipment, and even school buses.

With a waitlist already reaching over 40 vehicles before doors officially opened, according to Angie, the need for their services is clear.

High Tide Auto aims to help solve a persistent problem for Petersburg residents: having to ship vehicles off-island for repairs.

To that end, the shop is equipped with an Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) calibration machine -- technology not available in most Southeast Alaska communities.

The ADAS machine is critical for modern vehicles with driver assistance features. "Sixty percent of every car in production has a level of ADAS," Wes said, referring to the increasing complexity of vehicle electronics. "These cars have radars on them. It all has to be calibrated anytime you work on them or remove them ... I foresee people shipping cars in [from around Southeast] just for this machine," Wes predicted.

Services will include vehicle alignments, oil changes, engine swaps, transmission work, air conditioning service, recall work, and warranty repairs. The shop has a heavy diesel mechanic, and "and a lot of diagnostic equipment," said Wes. "I can walk down and plug into a brand new John Deere [marine diesel engine] in the harbor ... as need be ... to do what we can to help out the fleet."

As a NAPA Auto Care center, High Tide Auto can offer nationwide warranties on parts and labor.

"If we change your alternator or starter and that part goes out, bring it back - you're going to have a zero bill walking out the door," Wes said. "The warranty is nationwide ... I can warranty work that other NAPA car carriers done all over the country. You move to town, we honor that warranty the whole nationwide."

Duane Garcia, NAPA Seattle wholesale manager who supports 113 stores across the region, flew in for the grand opening.

"It's good to see good stuff happen," Garcia said, reflecting on opening day.

Garcia noted that the turnout surpassed what he has seen at comparable events in much larger cities, and the sincerity of the well-wishers impressed him. "The shop is a plus to the community, and the community is supporting it."

"These guys are good representatives of NAPA as a brand without a doubt," said Garcia.

Garcia noted the hard work he has seen, from the first stages of the Davis's plan all the way to opening day of the shop. "When you see that, you go, 'Well, I want to be part of that.'"

NAPA is High Tide's source for equipment and parts, but also provides extensive training on the equipment to help raise the skill level and certification levels of the crew in the shop. "Training is a huge part of the support we can give them," Garcia said, "then it's up to them to utilize the tools that we give them."

One of the shop's three mechanics, Petersburg born and raised Nick Herrman-Sakamoto will be making full use of the training opportunities. While handling oil changes and tires in the shop, he will be completing the NAPA Auto Care apprenticeship program.

The apprenticeship is an 18-24 month long self-paced program.

"NAPA Auto Care provides all the schooling and materials that he will need," Angie explained, and through hands on training with support of the shops certified mechanics, he will have to meet the programs mile markers to move forward toward ASE certification.

"If you want a technician, you have to start bringing them from the ground up," Wes said, recounting the advice he has received from other auto shop guys.

And now the NAPA Auto Care apprenticeship opportunity is on the radar of local educators. "Mr. Owens [Petersburg High School shop teacher] is all excited," Wes said.

Also in the shop is John Robbins, an ASE certified mechanic who lived in Petersburg "a long time ago" and has returned from New York.

And Nathan Cooper, a heavy diesel mechanic – who went to college with Wes in the late nineties – moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Petersburg two months ago for the job.

For Cooper, the move represents a dramatic but welcome change of pace. "I like the scenery. I like the slower pace of life," he said. "I'm used to hustle and hustle and hustle and everything's in a hurry, so I'm liking the slowing down part."

Cooper mentioned snowmachining and boating as hobbies he looks forward to embracing, but for now he anticipates staying busy with the backlog of vehicle maintenance needs. "I think there's a lot of personal vehicles that are probably way behind."

Launching High Tide Auto represents a major investment in Petersburg on the part of the Davis family. The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce recognized the impact of their investment and awarded the couple's High Tide Parts as the 2025 Business of the Year back in February.

Financing for the shop came from First Bank, whose CEO visited Petersburg and personally reviewed the plans, said Wes.

The construction involved numerous local contractors: Jessie West's Rain Forest Contracting built it, Mattingly did the electrical work, Apex the in-floor heating, and Reid Brothers the site preparation.

Among the visitors on opening day was John Wikan, a mostly-retired diesel mechanic and owner-operator of Wikan Enterprises. Looking around at the immaculate facility with its gleaming floors and organized workspace, Wikan chuckled.

"I remember when I first started, how empty it looked. There looked like a lot of room. Wait five years -there'll be stuff scattered around everywhere."

With the doors now open and appointments filling quickly, High Tide Auto is revving its engine at the starting line.

"We're trying to just make a better quality of life," Wes summed up. "We don't anyone to have to pay to ship cars out of town to get work done."