TUSCOLA – One of downtown Tuscola’s newest business owner is about to celebrate his one year anniversary, and has plans on staying.

Bruce Robinson first set up shop in Tuscola in June 2005, but in a space that grew all too small all too fast. After his first year in business, he had more business than he could handle, and relocated his Hog Wrench shop to 200 N. Parke to accommodate his growling customer base.

“We were a little concerned with the noise that might come with the shop,” said Robinson about deciding to relocate into a former bakery. “But I think our customers who wait for their bikes are shopping around downtown, and so far, I haven’t had any complaints.”

According to Robinson, he considered several locations in the area, but he and his wife finally settled on Tuscola for several reasons. “We’re in the middle of everything here. My customers are coming from Rantoul to Effingham, and from Terre Haute to Decatur.”

Robinson, 43, grew up in Tuscola, graduating from Tuscola High School in 1981. He and his wife Andrea are raising their two daughters, aged 16 and 14, in Tuscola.

Robinson has been around motorcycles most of his life, starting with flat track racing when he was 12. He raced professionally for several years, and became a master at tweaking engines to get maximum performance.

In 1991, Robinson became a technician at Cozar’s in Decatur, working days in the shop working on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and at night working in the shop on dirt track racing bikes.

In his fourteen years at Cozar’s, Robinson successfully completed the coveted Master Level Technician program, which required numerous classes and training at Harley facilities all over the country. His full-timer, Christopeher Walsh, holds the same designation and is a graduate of the Motorcycle Mechanic’s Institute.

According to Robinson, the growth of Hog Wrench was solely by word of mouth, and that word has spread. He has customers in Palm Beach, Florida who ship their bikes to him for custom engine work, and was recently featured in a national magazine for helping a Canadian biker stranded in Tuscola.

“I enjoy getting to know my customers one-on-one and learning what they want to get out of their bike,” Robinson said. “It’s a personal experience.”

That personal experience includes something unusual for any service business of his kind – Sunday evening drop-off hours. “My wife and I were a little hesitant about doing this, but I found after trying it that it let me manage the schedule better and get people’s bikes back to them as promised, or earlier,” Robinson said. The shop also provides road-side pickup for stranded bikers.

Robinson’s newest addition to his shop is a Dynotune room, featuring state of the art diagnostic equipment with two display windows so his customers can watch the process. Robinson hadn’t intended to add the room so quickly, but found it necessary to accommodate the fuel-injected engines standard on the 2007 models.

Robinson has future plans for his shop. He plans on expanding his parts room and eventually carrying Harley clothing and accessories in the storefront area facing Parke Street. He also plans to expand his winter storage capacity for this coming winter, so more Harley owners can store their bike in a climate controlled environment. He hasn’t added a second technician yet, but that’s coming, too.

Hog Wrench’s hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, and Sunday drop-off is at 6 p.m. The phone number is 217-253-6323.