When Elie Salem visited Austin in 1987, he thought it was going to be temporary. Salem—a native of Lebanon—was living in Dubai when he came to Austin to see a friend. After facing issues with his travels, however, a quick trip turned into a permanent stay in Austin.

In need of work, Salem turned to his friend and experienced mechanic Michel Dib to start MBC Service Center.

“We struggled for the first five to six years,” Salem said. “People were taking advantage of me, and there was competition, three gas stations around me.”

But after five years of learning the ropes, MBC gained traction, and Salem was able to buy the business from Dib.

Salem attributes the success to being friendly with his customers and only using high-quality products. He keeps bags of chips and cookies and a fridge full of cold sodas in the lobby for customers to snack on, free of charge, while MBC fixes their vehicles. “I started being very friendly with customers. We treat everybody fairly, and we never did any type of advertisement, just word of mouth,” Salem said.

Now, Salem says 90% of his business is from repeat customers.

“Even people who move out to Pflugerville will come back here,” he said.

MBC Service Center handles all car maintenance needs, including oil changes, state inspections, brake diagnosis and air conditioning fixes. It is the only shop in the neighborhood with a certified mechanic, Salem said.

“I worked here 11 hours a day for 35 years,” Salem said, adding he recently is beginning to slow down and decided to close MBC on Saturdays.



MBC Service Center

1801 Briarcliff Blvd., Austin

512-929-0309

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Sat.-Sun.