Albert Lea Journal Features, Events, Opinion and Reviews

Over the last few months since moving to Albert Lea, my wife and I have had to get two new front tires, an oil change, an oxygen sensor replaced, and regular preventative maintence done on our 1996 Nissan Sentra.

Asking around about where I should go to get our tires done, the answers I received ranged from “I’m not sure” to “Wal-mart.” So, without much in the way of a recommendation for a local automotive repair shop, I decided to surf the web and see what I could find on my own.

After a few minutes, using keywords like “tires auto albert lea,” I found the phone number for Sanderson Auto Repair (www.sandersonautorepair.com) and called immediately. The folks at Sanderson Auto, as I soon learned, take their work very seriously. Not only do they display excellence in auto repair and maintenance, but this excellence is accompanied by fantastic customer service.

While waiting for new tires to get put on our car, I drank hot coffee, ate popcorn and watched CNN news updates. When I grew tired of the news, I picked up a magazine on the coffee table next to me and paged through a few interesting stories and photos. Soon, an older woman came an sat down next to me. We chatted about health care, medical treatments and the Mayo Clinic. The Sanderson Auto lobby was just the kind of place to invite warm conversation between strangers.

It’s the small things that make a big difference, but perhaps what amazed me most was the knowledge and expertise of the staff working their front desk.

“How on Earth can they afford to have such qualified people working with customers?” I asked myself after interacting with them for the first time and observing them work with other customers.

For Sanderson Auto, however, it’s not a matter of affording to treat customers with such knowledgeable staff. Rather, it’s a matter of how could an auto repair shop afford not to give its customers access to such a superior level of automotive expertise at the front desk.

Days after we got our new tires, I received a phone call on our answering machine. It was a woman from Sanderson Auto calling to make sure everything was going okay with our new tires and that we’d been happy with our service. Not long after that, we received a follow-up card in the mail.

Needless to say, we now go to Sanderson Auto for all of our car repair and maintenance needs…and highly recommend them to anyone who hasn’t yet found an auto repair shop they’d proudly recommend to their friends.

By Jeshua Erickson
Managing Editor

The Kaf’fe Hus is open once again. It’s the quaint little restaurant on South Broadway just a few strides from the railroad tracks. A short walk from our apartment on St. John Avenue, the Kaf’fe Hus immediately captures our attention when ever we walk, ride or drive by it. (MAP)

“We should go there and have breakfast,” one of us usually tells the other.

My wife, Jen, and I finally decided to eat breakfast there last Saturday morning.

Inside, there are three or four booths along the north wall, two or three tables in the middle; a counter and serving area line the south wall. We noticed, among other things, wicker lamp shades, dried flowers in various arrangements, and an old milk dispenser with counterweights you lift up when your glass is under the spout. The Kaf’fe Hus is unquestionably filled with home town charm.

We both decided to order pancakes. Or should I say we each ordered ONE pancake. Not only were they large enough to hang over the sides of the plate, but they were at least an inch thick. As Jen was about to pour syrup on her’s, I warned her that she should probably cut a hole in the center so it wouldn’t run down the sides.

She cut bites of her pancake and dipped it in the center. I did the same when my pancake arrived. Only, instead of a circle, I cut a triangle in the center, which worked just as well. The process leaves a great deal of room for creativity.

Our coffee: 75 cents a cup — free refills — and very tasty. We both drank our share and were more than ready to face the day. Both of us imagined how easy it would be to become “regulars” there. It might very well become our breakfast table away from home. If you’re visiting Albert Lea or you live here, I certainly recommend making a trip to the Kaf’fe Hus.