Meet the St. Paul car guy who followed his father's repair footsteps

Raks Pham officially became the boss at Tuan Auto Repair after his father, Tuan Anh Pham, died in 2021. But Raks, 44, has been pretty much running the business his father started in 1986 since he graduated from college in 2002.

Customers in the waiting area on Pascal Street at University and those posting on social media gush about Tuan Auto Repair doing good work at reasonable prices with great service. It's clear the son has continued his father's reputation.

Eye On St. Paul recently visited after Greta Kaul, a reporter at the Star Tribune and a Tuan Auto Repair customer, suggested he'd make a good Eye subject. This story was edited for length.

Q: When did you start working in the shop?

A: I was 16 and was still in high school, St. Agnes. As soon as I had any free time, I would come here and help (my dad) out. When I was done with college in '02, at the U of M, that's when I started to run it on my own.

Q: When you helped him out, what kind of stuff did he have you do?

A: Whatever they needed. Sixteen is when I first started driving, so that's when I started to learn about cars. The basic maintenance stuff to take care of my own car. Watching the guys. And learning a lot from them. I did little out in the bays, but when I was done with college, I just started doing the office things, so he didn't have to worry so much about stuff.

Q: Your dad was pretty good at his work?

A: Great. It was a different time back then. Back then, it was more of "How do you fix things to get them going again," versus nowadays when it's replace, replace, replace.

Q: Was he self-taught?

A: He was self-taught. He worked on buses in Vietnam. Then he came over here, in '79. Coming here, knowing no one and not knowing the language, he just started working. Another family sponsored our family when we came over here, which was incredible for us. We had a place to stay. And he started working on cars out of a house. Just seven years later, he opened the shop.

Q: What did you study at the U?

A: Sociology.

Q: That's not the degree you get to run an auto service.

A: But it was the quickest degree to get out of there. [laughs]

Q: Did you fall into this, or was it something you really wanted to do?

A: I really wanted to ease a lot of his worries. One day, when I was in college, I got off early. Came here. And literally, none of the mechanics had shown up. And the shop was filled with cars. And he was just scrambling to get everything done. I just said I've got to get done with school so I can help him. It was just getting to be too much.

A business, it's a lot to shoulder. A small business like ours, you have to bring in enough work to support the family, bring in enough work so the technicians can support their family — but yet try to find a balance to where you're taking care of customers too.

Q: What's the secret to finding that balance?

A: I don't feel that I'm doing anything special. Just make a point to communicate with the customers so that they understand what we're doing, what they're paying for. Just making sure we're on the same page. Things don't always go perfect. If something is not right, just make sure we do it right. I mean, we try to do our best, just being as open as we can.

Q: How many cars do you work on each day?

A: On an average day, we will work on 16-20.

Q: Tell me about your home team. Married, kids?

A: Married. Just passed 20 years. Two boys. The oldest is 17, almost 18. The youngest just turned 14.

Q: Any interest in cars?

A: My oldest is. He might be really interested in aviation. He's looking at that program right now.

Q: Piloting, or working on planes?

A: Working on planes. I think he's going to try that. He got accepted to a program at Minneapolis Technical College, which works out of Delta. That's a pretty exciting thing for him.

Q: How much longer do you see yourself doing this?

A: I don't know. Just keep plugging away. You work when you're sick. You work when you're hurt. When it's cold. When it's hot. Just show up. And get the job done.