Smithburg Automotive adds location on North 16th Street

FAIRFIELD — Smithburg Automotive was founded in 1976 in a part of Fairfield known as New Chicago.

Dave Smithburg’s grandfather started the business, and today Dave is proud to continue that tradition, which has included a couple of expansions, and another one on the way. Smithburg Automotive moved to its location at 308 W. Burlington Ave. in 2000, and in 2020 the business purchased Bob’s Automotive on South 23rd Street to open a second location.

After the acquisition, Smithburg Automotive retained Bob’s employees, and today the company has about 18 employees.

The business is expanding once again into a new building at 1503 W. Burlington Ave., which offers car sales and a detail center with two detailers. It’s already performing detailing work, and Dave said the building’s interior should be finished by the end of summer. Residents who drive by can view a selection of vehicles for sale on the lot at the intersection of Burlington Avenue and North 16th Street.

In 2022, Smithburg Automotive added a car rental service to its lineup of services, and has a fleet of 15 cars. Dave said his company covers practically every component of the automotive industry from car sales to tires to repairs to cleaning to fuel sales. This makes it resilient to tough economic times, he said.

“We’re multifaceted, so if something goes weird with the economy and one part of the business dips, another one starts to do better,” Dave said. “When nobody wants to spend money to buy a car, our repairs do better, and when people have money to buy, they don’t do as many repairs.”