But they are going to get to relax a little more after this evening. That's when the Mobilios - Bart, 86, Anthony, 79, and Phil Jr., 70 - will finally close the doors of the 74-year-old family business that has become a second home.
The store at 450 N. Main St. looks like a cross between a hardware store and a convenience store, only with antifreeze and windshield wiper blades lining the shelves instead of hammers or Twinkies. In the back storage room, a wooden floor with rows of brown dots evinces the building's former use as a bowling alley.
But there is another side to the store. The brothers, wearing baseball caps and jeans, talked most enthusiastically about the kaffeeklatsches that drew customers and family every day at 3 p.m. and the annual holiday parties with spiked punch and 6-foot-long heroes.
Joan Bertola, 71, showed up on Friday afternoon clutching windshield wiper blades, which she wanted to be sure Phil Jr. would install before the shop closes today. After 20 years of doing business at Phil's, Bertola said, she has no idea where to go for such things now.
Several customers like Bertola arrived through that afternoon to wish the brothers farewell and help them pack the remaining inventory, including the last piece of heavy machinery, a press, from what used to be the machine shop.
Despite the loyal customers, the brothers agreed that business has suffered in the last 10 years from the higher technology that has slipped under the hoods of cars.
Bart retired in 1981, but the other two brothers have bittersweet feelings about heading into their golden years. Anthony plans to take his family to Europe. All three plan to keep in touch with the friends they have made while working.
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