Woman-owned auto shop coming to Ravenswood: 'I want everyone to feel welcome here'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A new woman-owned auto shop is coming to Ravenswood.

The owner is working to open the doors to female auto mechanics and customers.

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The founder of Mechanista said she's designed the shop to help women feel more comfortable. It's why she's added comfy places to work and places for kids to play. It's all to pave the way for women to thrive in the auto industry.

"The only reason you don't look around and see more female auto techs all the time is because they have not been made and feel welcome," Lisa Thompson said.

That's the very narrative Thompson is working to change.

After running a nonprofit bakery that gave employment opportunities to at-risk youth, Thompson decided to take her experience to the automotive industry.

"Women actually are part of 62% of car-buying decisions. But as you can see in most automotive shops, they are not taken into consideration when you look at a shop," Thompson said.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women make up just 2% of auto mechanics nationwide.

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It's why the nonprofit Mechanista will be more than just an auto shop. It will hire female and non-binary youth, ages 17-24, for a 13-week apprenticeship that pays $17 an hour.

"Being a woman in this industry, being able to do exactly the same thing as the 10 men that are next to you, you feel pretty amazing," Mechanista auto technician Molly Laemle said.

Laemle says that's the message she wants to get out to young girls. After coming to the industry in her late 30s, she says she's learned you can do anything you put your mind to.

"I want everyone to feel welcome here and comfortable, and I feel like going to get your car serviced can be a really stressful experience," Laemle said.

It's why the space is decorated to feel more like customers are living at home, complete with diaper-changing stations, kids' corners and places for parents to work while waiting on their car. This is the auto shop where women can bloom.

"They have all of the strengths; they have all of the ability to do these things. They just need a space where they feel welcome," Thompson said.

Mechanista is expected to be open to the public by mid-August and have their apprenticeships open to apply for by October.