CAPTION: Shortly after Mike Isaak moved his family to Dracut, he decided to move his business to town as well, opening Dracut Auto Service at 41 Arlington Street. (DRACUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PHOTO)

Mike Isaak worked a few jobs before he was finally able to fulfill the dream that brought him to the United States – owning his own business.

Mike purchased Lewis Auto Service on Appleton Street in Lowell in 2012, changed the name to Lowell Auto Service & Sales, and stayed there for 11 years. He and his wife, Jaime, a mental-health counselor, moved their young family (four kids, now ages 20-12) to Dracut in 2017, and in 2022, he approached the owner of the former A Plus Auto Repair & Detailing at 41 Arlington Street with an offer to buy the garage.

He opened in January 2023 and changed the name to Dracut Auto Service, which happens to be the Dracut Economic Development Business of the Month for August 2025.

“I was leasing on Appleton Street, and I didn’t want to lease for the rest of my life,” Mike said of his move across the river. “I lived in Dracut, so I approached the owner here and asked if he wanted to sell.”

At the same time, the old Lord Overpass in Lowell was in the middle of its makeover, and Appleton Street was experiencing well-publicized problems of its own, and Mike knew it was time for a change.

Many of his customers in Lowell made the move over Lowell’s bridges with him, but even more importantly, many of A Plus Auto Repair’s customers stayed put when they found out customer service is the name of Mike’s game.

That customer service was on display when Dracut Auto Service won the Best Oil Change category in The Sun’s recently announced 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards.

“I didn’t tell people I was moving, but a lot of the old customers found me,” Mike said. “But I held on to most of the customers who were coming here already and built it up that way — by treating customers the way they should be treated. I’m old-school.”

Mike arrived in the U.S. in 2001 from Lebanon, where he worked as an electrician. He took a job at Lowell Automatic Transmission on Chelmsford Street, working there and at a convenience store for a few years, then worked as a technician for Comcast for four years before becoming a business owner.

“We get most of our customers by word of mouth,” Mike said. “My biggest advertising is by referral and word of mouth. You have to treat the customers the right way, make them feel comfortable and feel at home. Customer service is everything.”

Mike attributes his emphasis on customer service to his first boss in the States, Roger Montbleau, the former owner of Lowell Automatic Transmission and onetime Dracut resident.

“I learned a lot from Roger,” Mike said. “He knew how to treat his customers. He was a role model for me, and still is a role model.”

Dracut Auto Service, 41 Arlington Street, across from Parker Memorial Library, repairs all makes and models of cars, foreign and domestic. You can also buy a used car, though Mike says repair is the company’s “bread and butter.” The garage is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Call 978-458-3333.