Joe's Garage

Joe’s Garage and Joe Mendillo himself are institutions of the Hill neighborhood. Joe Mendillo, now 92, has been a mechanic for all 70 years of the garage’s existence. He first stared on 289 Legion Avenue between Vine and Greenwood Streets. Joe’s Garage was one of the only major auto repair shop in the Hill.

For 20 years, Joe specialized in working with cars and trucks. Then, they came out with bigger trucks such as big rigs, Mack trucks and lots of other kinds of big commercial vehicles. Joe moved along with the times, his business expanding along with the vehicles. He decided that he needed a bigger shop to work on more vehicles so he went searching for new land. That is when Joe’s Garage moved to Davenport Avenue. There was a lot of property for him to work on the bigger trucks and the cars there.

Soon, business started to boom. He started getting lots of trucks from businesses from all around New Haven. He also had people working under him; there was a mechanic for engine work, another mechanic for transmission and designers for the body work on some cars. A little while after, Joe Mendillo got married and his wife started working around the shop, doing paperwork for the business. Around the 1950's, Joe thought about getting more space so he can do more business and make more money so he started to add on to the shop. The addition that was added on to Joe’s shop provided more space and the more money he wanted. From 1950-1980, Joe Mendillo said he was the biggest tow truck company in New Haven.

After 1980, business for Joe’s Garage started going down due to competition – not in the Hill but in New Haven. The mechanics started getting old and retiring. Some stayed to try and train other potential mechanics, but the new mechanics didn’t help business get back to the old way. Joe stopped repairing and focused on towing. Soon, Joe’s Garage only had Joe as a mechanic.

Since business stopped, he has been sitting around the shop selling the gas. He now focuses mainly on selling gas and renting out his tow trucks. Joe Mendillo, a Hill resident for 92 years said he is going to sell the garage and the trucks sometime next year. When I asked if he enjoyed being a mechanic, he smiled and replied, “That was the greatest business I ever had.”