BUILDING NEW | Smith Brothers Transmission

By MORGAN CHILSON | Photo by BRADEN DIMICK

Smith Brothers Transmission is proud to be the oldest transmission shop in Topeka. Owner Matthew Stallbaumer is even prouder of the company’s new location on South Topeka Boulevard, which has brought them a lot of business.

Stallbaumer said the expansion of an electric sub-station at his former location, 2647 SE 6th Avenue, forced the company into a move they were already contemplating.

“It was definitely a blessing in disguise,” Stallbaumer said. “We built this building brand new, and just love it.”

Stallbaumer bought the former property of Bob’s Car Wash, located at 4000 SW Topeka Boulevard, and cleared the lot.“

Our old shop on East 6th Street was a three-bay shop, and we knew we would get busier being on a busier street, so we made it a heck of a lot bigger,” he said. “We made it an 11-bay shop, and probably could have gone bigger than that.”

Some people were upset at the demolition of Bob’s Car Wash. Stallbaumer feels sympathy for people who didn’t want to lose their memories of a once-popular business on the boulevard.

He also understands that it’s tough to keep pouring money into an old building, and very easy to let them fall into disrepair. He admits that his shop on East 6th Street wasn’t in the best shape.

“I can honestly say, if you’ve ever seen our building when it was at East 6th Street, I’m very confident the city of Topeka was extremely worried about us moving to this location,” he said with a laugh. “We fell into that same boat.

“But it really is visually stimulating to see new buildings go up, and they’re more modern,” Stallbaumer added. “I think the growth of everything in Topeka is a good thing.”

Stallbaumer is excited for what’s to come. He mentioned several other areas that are in the process of tearing down old buildings, including some movement just across the street from Smith Brothers Transmission.