SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Coffee. Falafels. Car repairs. It's all in a day's work for Yousry Abdelmegid.

The owner of Main Street Donair & Falafel and the recently-renamed Main Street Cafe in the Centre Square Mall is now also overseeing the operations of Auto Master, a new car repair shop on Coronation Drive.

Yousry Abdelmegid, owner of Main Street Cafe, handles a call at the office of Auto Master, owned by his son Saad, currently attending university in Calgary. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

The shop is owned by Abdelmegid's son, 19-year-old Saad, who is currently in his first year of engineering studies at the University of Calgary.

The original plan called for a mechanic to oversee the hands-on operations of the store, but when a suitable candidate abruptly pulled out for personal reasons, Saad asked his father to step in.

"It was a kind of investment for my son - savings for the school," said Abdelmegid. "By the time he finishes university, he'll (have) an established business."

The shop - which shares its location with Good Old Ray Plumbing and the administrative office for Aurora Village - opened late last month.

"We spent over $50,000 on new equipment here," Abdelmegid said of the hoists and wheel alignment machine that take up most of space in the garage. Based on the demand for mechanical work in Yellowknife, he hopes the equipment, plus installation costs, will pay for themselves within two years.

"There's enough work. The two guys are working every day here, eight hours," he said.

Being a car owner himself, Abdelmegid knows very well that there's always demand for more car repair services in Yellowknife.

"I have vehicles and I have a hard time to get into the dealership to get any work on it. For service, it's two to three weeks, every time ... Sometimes, a month, month-and-a-half."

The shop specializes in front- and rear-end repairs, as well as wheel alignments. Mechanics won't replace cracked windshields, a typical hazard of Northern living, stressed Abdelmegid.

"There's lots of companies, besides the car dealers, (who do that)," he said. "We don't want to compete; we want to fit in. Yes, we want to make some money, but in the meantime, we're not there to compete with others."

Auto Master has a staff of three: an office manager as well as mechanics Michael Han and Al Cluney.

Cluney, who moved to Yellowknife 22 years ago, starting as a mover for $12 per hour, said he liked the relatively tranquil atmosphere of the shop. He formerly worked at Buffalo Airways and Yellowknife Motors.

"With the other places, you've got customers ... with brand new vehicles. They want this, they want that. Here, it's a lot calmer, more relaxed," said Cluney.