Powell Garage was founded in Santa Barbara in 1938, by Arnold “A.D.” Powell and his son Everett. The shop was initially located on Chapala St. Following World War II, it was relocated to the area of lower De La Vina St. and in 1948, Powell Garage found its final home and settled down at its current location of 1327 De La Vina St. It was here that A.D. and Everett continued to work together until A.D. retired about ten years later.
After 17 years of running the shop, Everett decided to retire. The shop was passed to his sons Richard and Fred. They faithfully continued running the business, keeping its reputation of fair and honest service. Throughout the years, they saw many changes in the automotive industry. They realized the need to keep up with these changes and did so with continued education and training. After decades of running the shop together, they decided to retire at the end of 2004.
Realizing that the Powell family had completed its history in the automotive business, Richard and Fred Powell sold the shop to their two long time employees Paul and Fred Ledesma. The Ledesma’s, who are also brothers, had enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Richard and Fred for over 20 years. Just like the Powell’s, they make sure to keep up with the ever-changing automotive industry. Paul and Fred continue to keep the legacy of Powell Garage, not only by keeping its name but also its reputation of fairness and honesty.