Danny Amaral appeared resolute as he stood talking with The Newtown Bee in the mostly empty showroom of his family’s soon-to-be-sold automotive facility on South Main Street earlier this week.

“I’ve had to face the question of whether I want to do this for the rest of my life,” he said with the same warm smile that has greeted customers over more than half a century since he began working there under the watchful eye of his dad, Anthony, back in the mid-1950s.

“This is the only job I’ve ever had,” Mr Amaral said of the former auto dealership and filling station that has sustained as a service garage, emissions testing location, and body shop in recent years after the gas pumps and Chrysler dealer affiliation disappeared.

While Amaral Motors is scheduled to close by the end of September, the familiar landmark will remain, albeit under the new ownership of the Modzelewski family and James Modzelewski — a the third generation member of his family who are known throughout western Connecticut for operating vehicle repair, recovery, and towing services for more than 50 years.

Mr Amaral said he was not too concerned about finding something else to do in his semi-retirement, but added that he never worked anywhere else — and never really wanted to.

“My earliest memories are sitting on my father’s lap steering some of the cars as he drove them around the lot,” the retiring local business owner said.

According to Dan Amaral, his dad, Anthony, built and opened the garage — which is relatively unchanged in its appearance from the street — after he purchased an acre of land from his future wife, Mary Helen Eghan, back in 1932.

Nine years later, Dan came along, and it was not long before the youngster became a fixture at the shop.

Aside from the addition of a body shop in the 1980s, Mr Amaral said the physical layout of the garage has not changed.

‘A Prime Location’

James Modzelewski said that he has plans to add a commercial building on the south end of the lot where his company will house specialty towing and recovery vehicles the company will be operating from the site. He is also planning technology enhancements consistent with what customers will need to accomplish repairs and service on newer vehicles.

Mr Modzelewski said the acquisition of Amaral Motors will be the company’s fourth location and its second in Newtown. The family already has a leased commercial facility off Edmond Road.

“We’re excited to revamp this location and make a new home for our company here in Newtown,” he said. “Our business is growing, and in this line of work, you can never have too much space.”

Mr Modzelewski said he and the Amaral family, who have been friends with James’ family for many years, began discussing the possibility of a transition for the property back in April.

Calling the South Main Street facility a “prime location,” Mr Modzelewski said the expansion of his family business will permit the likely addition of staff to compliment their workforce, which currently numbers about 45.

Modzelewski’s handles vehicle care, body work, and towing and recovery for hundreds of private customers and is on 24-hour call for the Connecticut State Police and local police departments from the New York border in Danbury, east to Oxford, and north to Kent and Cornwall.

The company currently boasts a pool of around 40 wreckers, including heavy duty apparatus that can handle massive commercial vehicles like tour buses and tractor trailers. Modzelewski’s has been in business since 1971, when it started as a modest two-bay repair garage run coincidentally by Mark and his father, John.

The company, with its towing and auto body and repair divisions, is now run by brothers James and Mark who, like Dan Amaral, worked around the business under their late father, Mark, who passed away last year.

“We hope to become Newtown’s premier one-stop location for towing, mechanical, and body work,” he said, “and we’re hoping to continue serving all of Dan’s great customers, too.”

Modzelewski’s plans to continue offering state emissions testing but will reserve any decisions about selling used vehicles until the operation is fully occupied by his company and renovations are completed.

“We’re already working with town officials to ensure a smooth transition between the two businesses,” Mr Modzelewski said.

He added that an early October closing is scheduled.

Learn more at modztowing.com and at modzelewskiautobody.com.