You know you’re doing something right as a business when a customer puts up their own money to help you buy it. That’s what happened to the Ward family, who own and operate A Street Auto on the corner of State Street and A Street. “She [the customer] lent me the money to buy the business and gave me one year to pay her back,” said owner Scott Ward, 46, who has worked at A Street Auto for six years and purchased it in July of 2007. With the help of family and friends, Ward put together a 108-page request for proposals, which his dad Jose “Paps” Ward, 71, who has worked at the shop since February 2007, called a “labor of love.” The proposal was at first rejected by the loan company they presented it to, but, Ward said, their loan officer went to bat for them and ended up getting it pushed through. “So I ended up paying my customer back in 10 months,” Ward said. “She was thoroughly impressed.” Ward’s three sons, Chris, 23, Tim and Nick, both 20 (though not twins —”that’s a whole other story,” Ward joked) all began working at the shop once Ward took ownership, bringing three generations together under one business roof. Paps said Ward was 12 years old when he first showed him how to build a motor on a Volkswagen. Later, they worked together on a project car — an old 1960 Volkswagen — that they restored and that Scott still has to this day. But, Paps said, Ward’s interest in taking apart a machine and putting it back together started when he was about four. “When he was a little kid and got his first bicycle, he tore it apart and said, ‘Look mom, look what I did,’ and all these pieces of this brand new bicycle were all over the place,” Paps said. “And within an hour he was riding it again, he had put it back together. It was the inquisitiveness of how things …” “…tick,” Ward interjected. “Yeah” Paps said. “Which has been like a hand-me-down throughout the family. It’s neat to have my grandkids working here and asking the questions that I used to get from him. We’ve certainly all gotten closer as a result of this business, as far as family is concerned.” “It hasn’t all been glory though,” Ward admitted. “We’ve had our moments. Believe me, I’ve probably fired each one of them at least once.” But, Ward said, it’s been his dream to work on cars with his sons, who were 12 and 14 when they first got into into it, helping him restore the motor of a Toyota Camry in their driveway. “They started out doing it because they wanted to buy skateboard stuff and I said, ‘Okay if you guys help me out, I’ll pay you,’” Ward said. “Now they have a trade, whether they want to do it the rest of their life or not it’s up to them, but it’s something they can fall back on.” Paps said because of the shop’s unique setting in the heart of downtown, they get “an amalgam of clients” that include the varied professionals who work in the buildings, as well as federal, state and city employees. “Our clients should expect to be taken care of,” Ward said. “They should expect honesty. That’s just the way I run my shop. I’m straight-forward, I don’t pull any punches. I tell you what’s going on with your car and I’ll show you first hand.” But, Paps added, while the shop may be open six days a week, they get extremely busy. “We went from people who would just come in and want to get their cars done to now we’re booked two, three days in advance,” he said. “So if they want to, people should call up and get an appointment.” Ward was quick to point out, however, that if you do have an emergency, they will accommodate you.