A lifelong love of cars and a leap of faith led Hunter Bridgmon to open Bridgmon Motorworks, a full-service auto repair and customization shop housed in a former gas station that had sat largely unused since the 1990s.
Bridgmon, who grew up in Owensboro, said the idea came after years of working in industrial maintenance.
“I’d been interested in cars since I was probably five or six, being around my parents and their interest in cars,” Bridgmon said. “I worked in industrial maintenance for about eight years, but I just never really felt like I was doing what I was meant to be doing. I quit my job and started this overnight — took a leap of faith and prayed about it. I said, ‘God, if this is what you want me to do, let’s do it.’ And here we are.”
Bridgmon said the location, at 2846 New Hartford Road, has deep roots in the community, originally operating as a gas station decades ago.
“Everybody that comes here has something to say about the building,” Bridgmon said. “People tell me stories about when it was a gas station or how their dad worked here. It’s neat to hear the history.”
At Bridgmon Motorworks, the team handles everything from routine maintenance to high-performance upgrades.
“We do everything from an oil change all the way to pulling a motor or transmission,” he said. “It’s hard to find shops that will work on just about anything. We’ve had everything from a BMW to old diesels and brand-new Mustangs. Some shops won’t touch those, but I’m willing to take it on.”
That approach has already earned him a loyal customer base.
“One of my first customers brought me a Mustang that no one else wanted to work on,” he said. “I got it running right, fixed the issues, and now the customer says they’ll keep coming back.”
For Bridgmon, integrity is central to the business.
“My goal here is to be honest and try to save people money,” he said. “I may not make as much money that way, but I’d rather treat people right and earn their trust. That’s how you get repeat business.”
Currently, the shop operates with a three-person crew — Bridgmon, a colleague, and a part-time service advisor who joins in the afternoons after his construction job.
“There are nights I don’t sleep well because I’m involved in everything,” Bridgmon said. “But that’s how I want it. I want to know everything that’s going on.”
Bridgmon Motorworks is open for general repairs, performance tuning, and custom upgrades. For more information or to follow updates, visit their Facebook page.
