ELKTON – Cody Clifford has opened another shop – this time it’s Elkton Auto Repair.

Clifford already operates Aurora Auto Body & Towing and the Aurora Quick Stop, but he jumped at the opportunity to expand to Elkton.

“The small towns are fun to work in,” Clifford said. “It’s nice to participate and have a hand in being able to see them succeed and be able to stay on the map.”

Elkton Auto Repair is located at 100 Elk St. It was previously a service station owned by the CHS elevator and tended more to the ag side with feed, fertilizer and grain. When the building went up for sale, there weren’t a lot of takers, Clifford said.

“Auto repair didn’t fit their line of work. That’s what we do, so we put a bid on it and got accepted,” he said. “I hate to see small towns lose businesses and stuff like that. It’s nice to drive down Main Street of a small town and see them thrive,” he said.

He wants to serve everyone from the farmers to the folks who need a lawn mower fixed.

“We do pretty much complete automotive stuff,” Clifford said. “We do everything from oil changes and tires, to starters, alternators, brakes.

“It’s a pretty strong farming community. The farmers need a tire fixed, or even the local people need a tire fixed, an oil change. We’ve already replaced several tractor tires this spring for farmers.”

His mechanic is Ky Ribstein, who is there from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. He’ll consider adding Saturday hours in the future, Clifford said.

They’ll service cars, trucks, and tractors.

“We’ve been doing some work on the buses for the school,” Clifford said. “If we know how to do it, we’ll gladly help them out.”

That includes some smaller items.

“Do a lot of lawn mower stuff,” Clifford said, laughing. “Servicing lawn mowers, fixing weed eaters. (Ribstein) said he’s never seen so many lawnmower tires as when he first opened up here, had about 11 of ‘em,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s what people need,” Clifford said philosophically. “You go with the flow and try and help the people, I guess.”

If you’re more of a do-it-yourselfer, Elkton Auto Repair has got you covered, too.

“We offer all automotive stuff,” Clifford said. “Somebody wants to walk in and buy a battery; three racks of batteries over there.”

They also carry oil filters, air filters, and a full line of Cenex oils, among other things.

Don’t expect a fancy establishment.

They haven’t been open long, and Clifford wants to take things slow before making big changes like remodeling.

“We’d like to get it up and going here ... If we have the town’s support, more than willing to do a facelift,” Clifford said, even mentioning a new building as a possibility. “It’s kind of up to the people and the town and the area. The more they do here, the more we can do here.”

There’s several things Clifford has in mind to add to the shop and the community.

“There’s been a lot of rumors of putting gas in over here. People want gas because there is nothing in town anymore,” he said. “I’ve told people, ‘Support this first and then we’ll go from there.’

“It’s very expensive to put (in) tanks and pumps and stuff like that,” Clifford said. “I’m not opposed to it, being we’ve already got gas (on sale) in Aurora. We’ve already got the suppliers. We’ve got the connections for it. ... It’s not out of the question.”

Clifford said Elkton is a tight-knight community that supports local businesses.

“We had – not exaggerating – 100 people say, ‘We’re so glad you guys bought that and are keeping it open’ and glad not everything’s disappearing from a small town because not everybody wants to live in a big town, you know,” he said.

Clifford also wants to be part of the town in other ways, too.

“Already been asked to support soccer, things like that. ... You can make donations and help other things in town. That’s just kinda what you do in a small town. That’s why I enjoy being in a small town,” Clifford said.

“More than anything, we’re here for the community. If the community uses this, great, we’ll be here, we’ll stay here,” he said.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.