Sharbot Lake Automotive

Jeff Green | Mar 16, 2022

Zach Woodcock, who purchased Gibson's Garage on January 1st and has renamed the business Sharbot Lake Automotive, said he felt a pull towards business ownership from his family background.

“My grandfather, Ford Robinson, ran a dairy business for most of his life, and the Robinson family are big into running their own businesses. I felt like this was a good opportunity for me to get into a business as well,” he said, in a phone interview this week.

Zach had been working as a linesman for Hydro One. Although based in Sharbot Lake, he travelled across the province for work, and wanted to be based closer to home.

He is not a mechanic, although he has always done his own work on vehicles, and Muril Kennedy who worked for Gibson's, has remained in place as the mechanic at Sharbot Lake Automotive.

“I was very happy to be that Muril has remained. He is a great mechanic, and since he was already here for a long time, he knows the vehicles and our customers.”

Zach said that the Gibson Garage clientele have continued to use the services of Sharbot Lake Automotive, and he is actively seeking new customers.

“Some people don’t even know we are here, and they travel to Perth or Kingston to get the vehicles worked on.”

For now, Zach is handling all of the booking and office management.”

“It has been a big step buying this business. Along the way the help and mentorship from my cousin Spencer Robinson, who runs an excavating company, has been very important. It is good to have someone to talk to as things come up, and Spencer has already been through challenges, so he knows what to say to me when I ask his advice.”

He also said that support from John Wemp, who owns the auto shop property, and more importantly, from his girlfriend, Melissa Kimett, made it possible for him to enter into the business world,

The main contact point for Sharbot Lake Automotive is the phone number, which has remained unchanged, 613-279-2727, but increasingly people have been contacting the shop via Facebook.

“So far it has been great, meeting with customers and basically coming home to work in my home community. I am really looking forward to the spring and to bringing new customers to Sharbot Lake Automotive.”