“My kids have grown up here”: Decades-old downtown auto shop moving to make way for skyscraper - KOLN

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - It’s a bittersweet time for a the family running Melichar’s 66, a gas station and auto shop at 9th and P and staple of Lincoln.

They are now preparing to move out in the next few months or sooner because the Lincoln Bold 9 Lincoln Park skyscraper is going to take their place.

For half a century Melichar’s has stood as a gateway to Lincoln’s downtown. Pictures from the past cover a wall in the back office of the building; they’re a testament to a family springing up alongside the business.

“My kids have grown up here,” said Bruce Melichar, the co-owner.

Bruce took over the place from his father, Gene Melichar, who started the auto shop back in 1969.

“I can remember coming with my dad, and they were building this,” Bruce said. “So I can see the walls going up and how the office was going to look.”

Bruce’s son Jeff Melichar took on the role of co-owner. He said his mother has told him stories of him as a baby, murmuring in a playpen near the front desk.

“I don’t know if I have an instance in my life where I don’t remember the station,” Jeff said. “So the thought of not being there any longer, it hurts.”

Jeff said his son Griffin also grew up in and around the shop.

Another steady presence is Tank the bulldog, who attentively stands as guard and greeter at the door.

Jeff said he’ll miss a lot about Melichar’s: from the friendly interactions between him and those looking for directions to Husker tailgates and putting score predictions up on their sign.

“We’ve run a husker gameday tailgate for decades,” Jeff said. “And it kind of became a destination.”

Soon, that ‘open’ sign will flicker off for the final time, but the family does have some good news. They are up and running at another location at 48th and Normal Streets.

It’s called Parkway 66 now, and once their home in the Haymarket is no more, it’ll take the name Melichar’s 66.

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