A simple mistake brought the new owners of Ruggless Auto Service Center to the Springfield area.
Tisa Sawin and Evan Moentenich purchased Ruggless from Roger Ruggless late last year and have since rebranded the auto repair shop as Monkee Wrench Auto. But moving to Springfield wasn’t part of the couple’s original plan.
Sawin and Moentenich were living in Belleville in 2024 when they started the process of shopping for a new home. Sawin drew a circle on her phone in the Zillow app to define the area of their home search and unintentionally included the Springfield region. She forwarded a listing of a home she liked to Moentenich, and he pointed out that the house actually was located in Glenarm, just south of Springfield.
At the time, Sawin and Moentenich were both working remotely, so they had the flexibility to live wherever they chose. And Sawin said she had always been attracted to the Springfield region.
“We used to drive up to Iowa, and when we’d drive past the lake in Springfield, I’d always say, ‘I want to explore that town,’” she said.
She and Moentenich moved to Springfield in October of 2024, and soon after, they started looking for a potential business to buy in the area. Before their move, the two had been in the process of buying a company in the St. Louis region. That deal fell through, but they still had the entrepreneurial urge to own their own business.
Sawin said she started visiting locally owned businesses in Springfield, looking for owners who might be interested in selling. She and Moentenich, who has a background working in auto repair shops, found what they were looking for when they started talking to Ruggless, who, after 20 years running the auto repair shop started by his father, was eyeing retirement.
Sawin and Moentenich started discussions with Ruggless in January of 2025 and officially closed on the purchase of the auto shop located at 3417 Constitution Drive on Dec. 22. Sawin, who is the majority owner of Monkee Wrench Auto, said she and Moentenich hope to continue to carry on the legacy established by the Ruggless family.
“I know Roger and his dad, Al, had a really good reputation with their customers,” Sawin said. “Their customers really trusted them. My goal is to continue to earn that trust.”
To that end, the staff at the auto shop has remained the same since the ownership transition.
“We let Roger retire so he could go and be a grandpa, but other than that, the team is the same,” Sawin said, adding that they currently are looking to add one employee to the auto repair team and eventually to add another staff member for the front-of-the-shop operations. The company currently has six employees.
Since the acquisition, Moentenich and Sawin have upgraded Monkee Wrench Auto’s software system and online booking and payment options and made some updates to the lobby space. Sawin said the company hopes to add services for electric and hybrid cars to its offerings in the coming year.
“That’s what we’re working toward,” Sawin said.