Schlafer's Auto Repair

Some Mendocino buildings wear their history in lace curtains and old porches. This one wears it in garage doors, gas pumps, tool bays, and cars waiting their turn.

Overview

Schlafer's Auto Repair at 44901 Main Street is one of Mendocino's oldest continuously used automotive sites - and one of the village businesses where the function of the property has changed remarkably little for more than a century.

The site was serving automobiles by 1914, when the original garage building was constructed. More than 110 years later, automobiles are still being repaired here.

Today Schlafer's operates as an independent auto repair business and gas station. The Better Business Bureau lists Schlafer's, Inc. at this address, specializing in foreign and domestic automobile repair, with Judith Schlafer as owner. BBB records give April 1, 1951, as the beginning of the Schlafer business.

For travelers, the station has another distinction: it remains Mendocino village's only gasoline station, making this otherwise modest garage an important piece of everyday village infrastructure.

Location

Schlafer's sits at 44901 Main Street near the eastern entrance to Mendocino, away from the tightly packed shops of the central business district.

County historic records identify two adjoining Schlafer parcels here. They document the original S & E Garage building, the later gas and service station, and a garage dwelling behind the station. The Mendocino Town Plan historic inventory also identifies 44901 Main Street as the site of Schlafer's Garage.

That location has made sense for automobiles for more than a century. A driver entering or leaving Mendocino could stop for fuel, repairs, tires, mechanical work, or a little local advice without having to thread through the busiest part of the village.

History

The automotive story here begins in 1914.

According to Mendocino County's updated historic-structure inventory, the original S & E Garage building dates to that year. It was completely clad in corrugated iron - a striking choice in a village dominated by wooden buildings - and the historical record traces it to an April 25, 1914 Mendocino Beacon reference.

Additional historical research says Ray Valentine constructed the building for the Fort Bragg Garage and Machine Company. At the time it was celebrated as Mendocino's first "fire proof" building because of that corrugated-iron exterior.

The garage did not always carry the Schlafer name. Over the years it operated under several owners and names, including the B. & B. Garage, associated with Bowman and Boyle, and later the S. & E. Garage, associated with Sutherland and Escola. The business was more than a repair shop. At different times the property included a showroom and sales operation for automobiles and trucks.

Ralph C. Sutherland bought out his partner Charles Escola in December 1932 and renamed the operation Sutherland's Garage. Sutherland had already worked there for years as head mechanic. Under Sutherland, the garage expanded well beyond repairs. Historical accounts record sales of Plymouth and DeSoto automobiles, used cars, International Harvester trucks, tires, batteries, oil and even radios.

In 1936 another important piece of the property appeared. A new gas and service station was constructed immediately east of the original garage. County historic records date both the gas station and a dwelling behind it to 1936.

For its day, the station was modern. Contemporary accounts describe an automatic hoist and turntable for greasing cars. By 1937 Sutherland had installed a Bear Moto-Lab for diagnosing engines, batteries, lights, magnetos and distributors, and in 1939 the station received a Tokheim computing gasoline pump described as the only one of its kind on the coast at the time.

In 1946 Sutherland expanded his automobile dealership to Fort Bragg. The following year he sold the Mendocino garage to Alf Lyons.

The Building Today

The Schlafer chapter began soon afterward. Delbert Schlafer, who had previously worked at the S & E Garage, took over management in 1951 and eventually purchased the business. That date agrees with present BBB records, which list the Schlafer business as beginning locally on April 1, 1951.

Delbert and Dorothy Schlafer became closely associated with the garage. Dorothy's obituary describes her as an owner and bookkeeper of Schlafer's Garage, making clear that this was very much a family operation rather than simply a family name painted on a building.

Judith Schlafer later became another long-running part of that story. In a 2021 interview she said she had worked at the family business since 1968 and had operated it herself since 2004.

The little station gained national attention for a completely different reason in 2021 and 2022, when its gasoline prices became among the highest - and at times reportedly the highest - in the United States. The unusual prices generated national headlines, but the explanation was less sensational: Schlafer's is a small independent station buying relatively small fuel loads and does not have a large convenience store whose sales can help offset fuel costs.

Why It Matters

Behind all those headlines is the more interesting local story: Mendocino has been bringing automobiles to essentially this same Main Street property since 1914.

Community Memories

The replies add the kind of details that rarely make it into official inventories.

One longtime resident remembers once having a photograph of an antique automobile, possibly a Maxwell, parked in front of Schlafer's. The photograph itself may have dated from around the 1940s rather than from the earliest automobile era.

Another old photograph shared from the Vaughn family collection shows a Mendocino fire truck near the property. The contributor believes the truck may have been returning from the September 1941 Occidental Hotel fire. That identification has not been independently confirmed, but the photograph provides another glimpse of this end of Main Street during the garage's earlier years.

One person remembers Schlafer's from high-school days, including a cigarette vending machine where packs were recalled as costing 35 cents. More importantly, the garage, Mendosa's, Mendocino High School and the old Bank of America were remembered together as permanent landmarks of teenage life in Mendocino.

Another family memory places a father working at Schlafer's during the 1960s. There is also a recollection of unusually expensive gasoline during the 1990s - proof that complaints about fuel prices at this particular corner did not begin with the national headlines of 2021 and 2022.

Taken together, those memories reinforce what the official records already suggest: Schlafer's has not simply occupied this property for a long time. It has been part of ordinary Mendocino life across several generations.

Timeline

1914 - The original corrugated-iron garage is built by Ray Valentine for the Fort Bragg Garage and Machine Company.

1932 - Ralph C. Sutherland buys out Charles Escola and renames the business Sutherland's Garage.

1936 - A new gas and service station and a garage dwelling are constructed on the property.

1947 - Sutherland sells the Mendocino garage to Alf Lyons.

1951 - Delbert Schlafer takes over management, beginning the Schlafer era.

2004 - Judith Schlafer begins operating the business herself.

2021-2022 - The station draws national attention for its gasoline prices.

Sources & Original Research: Mendocino County Updated Inventory of Historic Structures - identifies the original S & E Garage at 44901 Main Street as dating to 1914, the gas station and garage dwelling to 1936, and cites contemporary Mendocino Beacon records; Mendocino Town Plan / Mendocino Historical Research, Inc. historic-building inventory identifying 44901 Main Street as Schlafer's Garage; Anderson Valley Advertiser, June 13, 2026 and December 3, 2022 - historical accounts of the Fort Bragg Garage and Machine Company, B. & B. Garage, S. & E. Garage, Sutherland's Garage, the 1936 service station and the 1947 sale to Alf Lyons; Better Business Bureau - Schlafer's, Inc. records; SFGATE reporting on Judith Schlafer; Fort Bragg Advocate-News obituary for Dorothy Schlafer; Los Angeles Times and other contemporary reporting on the 2021-2022 fuel prices; community replies and photographs from Chuck Ross, Judith Schlafer, Michael Duffy, Anna Roeth, Josie Drake and Sandra Liljeberg; original post text, photograph and research compilation provided by Gee Bee.