Reliance Auto opens on River Road in Edgecomb

Mon, 05/14/2018 - 7:45am

Story Location:
106 River Road
Edgecomb, ME 04556
United States

New business Reliance Auto at 106 River Road in Edgecomb, can help with all your automotive needs. It can also help you with motorcycles, trailers and plows, lawn mowers, and other small engine repairs.

And during the summer months, you can grab some free range chicken eggs, fresh organic produce and a glass of lemonade while you’re there.

Cory Mullens started working as a mechanic during a stint in the Navy, and later went to work for his his father-in-law, Tom Callahan, who owned Reliance Auto in Wiscasset for 35 years. When Callahan died three years ago, Mullens took over. He and wife Brooke Callahan sold it last year.

Mullens feigned innocence when asked jokingly if he knows what he’s doing. He said he wings it. Callahan laughed and said, “He does know what he’s doing.”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing this for more than 15 years now,” he replied. “But you’re always learning something new.”

The new business opened a couple months ago in a brand new building, but Mullens said it’s still a work in progress. They had planned to have a big grand opening, but business started coming in hard and fast, and it still hasn’t happened.

Mullens is also savvy when it comes to welding and metal fabricating. Callahan said she found it amusing that, though Mullens is an auto mechanic, last week there were two trailers being welded, painted and pretty much rebuilt in the garage. “We can tinker on pretty much anything,” Mullens said.

He worked on neighbor David Nutt’s boat trailer a couple weeks ago. “He wanted steps on it, so Cory did that,” Callahan said. “And Cory made metal bumpers and a back rack for his old truck.”

As for the eggs, produce and lemonade, the couple has extensive gardens and they sell produce and some perennials from a roadside stand during the summer. The stand runs on the honor system.

“We leave a little jar, and people can weigh their food and pay a reasonable price,” Callahan said. “We try to be less expensive than the supermarkets. We want to give people a reason to come here and get fresh food, and meet the people who grow it, for a lesser price.”

Their son Riley, 8, will sell lemonade at the stand.

Callahan said they also take on pretty much any job, including landscaping, and chopping and selling wood. “Anything to get us outside.”

Work at the garage is by appointment, so call ahead. Hours vary, but regular hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 207-208-9650.