Posted on 5/22/2012
It’s hard to believe now, but at one time the service station was actually seen as a literal safe haven – a place where experts would make sure that autos were running properly and in condition to make their trips without incident. In the 1940s, service station attendants really were the experts. They wore uniforms. In the early ‘50s, there was even a great government debate about self-serve stations; many of them were banned altogether because of the fear of fires, explosions or hazardous breakdowns that would result if drivers were to serve their own vehicles. Okay, those disasters never happened. Today there’s less empty space between towns, and we have cell phones to stay connected. Safety is built into cars now, too. But in Northeast Minneapolis, Columbia Heights, New Brighton and the surrounding Twin Cities area, the service station as a way to keep auto travel safe is alive and well at St. Anthony Mobil. Auto safety can be complex: for every safety feature in today’s au ... read more
Posted on 5/17/2012
There’s a reason St. Anthony Mobil has been a fixture in NE Minneapolis for almost three decades, and it may or may not have anything to do with the great people that we’ve served in Columbia Heights, New Brighton, Roseville, St. Anthony, Minneapolis and St. Paul. If you’ve ever done work on an automobile, you might have learned how easy it is to drop an important part into the engine block and instantly turn a one-hour job into an all-day affair. You might have finished the job and found a number of spare parts left over, forever a mystery. If you haven’t done any work on an auto, you might be one of the many who hear the engine knocking and simply turn up the radio. We’re not being boastful here: one of the great treasures on earth is a great mechanic when you need one. We like to think that St. Anthony Mobil is a safe haven for those who have worked on their cars – to varying degrees of success – and for those who have not. Our mechanics have been here for a long time, and ... read more