(WSB photo: L-R, Dave Winters, Sandra Wanstall, Todd Ainsworth, Chris Christensen, Nathen Huie)
You might recall that back after Swedish Automotive moved into its bigger, greener location at 7901 35th SW seven years ago, its old location at 7501 35th SW – four blocks north – was taken over by West Seattle Autoworks.
The two businesses (both longtime WSB sponsors, and co-sponsors of the annual West Seattle Car Show) have retained close ties, and now they’ll be closer than ever: Early in the New Year, WS Autoworks co-founders Todd Ainsworth and Chris Christensen will become the new owners of Swedish Automotive, whose longtime owners Dave Winters and Sandra Wanstall are retiring.
With that change, West Seattle Autoworks will be co-owned by Chris and lead tech Nathen Huie, who has worked there with Chris and Todd since they all moved from Alki Auto Repair in 2010.
This has been in the works a while – Dave has been in the vehicle-repair business in West Seattle for more than 30 years, and when he and Sandra started talking about retirement a few years ago, they looked for the right people to take over, first talking with staff members, and then Chris and Todd.
With the ownership changes, Todd will be at Swedish full time; Chris will split his time between the two locations. Nothing else is changing, we’re told – both locations will remain open, and the makes/models of vehicles they work on will remain the same – at Swedish, it’s Volvo, Saab, Subaru, and Mini; at WS Autoworks, “everything else.”
And you are invited to come help celebrate everyone’s new roles at an open house/farewell event set for 5-8 pm Monday, January 8th, at Tap Station (35th/Kenyon, right across from Swedish).
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