When Bill Johnston was hired as director of Norris University Center, he came to a new town with old car troubles. That’s how he ended up meeting Russ Leoni, the mechanic who has serviced his car for the last nine years.

Now Johnston and the countless people he has referred to Leoni must find a new car man. After 33 years in the business and 28 years of owning his own Evanston auto shop, Leoni closed his doors on March 29.

“I’m not retired, just taking a break,” said Leoni, 65. “I’m not in a hurry to get back.”

First Bank and Trust’s interest in Leoni’s leased property, 824 Emerson St., enabled him to leave the profession he had originally entered by accident, he said.

“I didn’t have to get out,” Leoni said. “But the opportunity was there and the time was right. I got a lot of cards, a lot of bottles of champagne. It’s nice to know that people really like you.”

Leoni left his job as a juvenile counselor in Nebraska in 1967 to assist his older brother at his auto shop. Trained to be a police officer, Leoni knew little about cars.

“I was just happy pumping gas,” he said. “I didn’t know what was under the hood.”

Since that time, Russ’s Complete Auto Service at the corner of Emerson Street and Benson Avenue has provided service to Evanston residents and Northwestern students and employees for years. Customers did not question Leoni’s knowledge of cars — instead they complimented his integrity.

Leoni said people appreciated him for how he ran his business.

“I wasn’t the world’s greatest mechanic, don’t get me wrong,” Leoni said. “But customers came because they trusted me, and I was a fair price.”

Leoni’s customers apparently agreed. Johnston said Leoni’s efficiency, honesty and especially pricing was what kept him coming back for service.

“He had an abundance of common sense and pushed an awful lot of work through there,” Johnston said. “I suppose if you wanted wonderful stuff done, you’d go to a dealership.”

Leoni said he often relied on customers such as Johnston to refer him to others. In fact, Johnston’s secretary, Diane Oaks, referred him to Leoni.

“Ninety percent of my customers were women,” Leoni said. “Once a woman trusts you to work on her car, she recommends you to her friends. I didn’t have to advertise.”

Customers who were referred to Leoni met a man who offered student discounts and understood the financial strains of caring for a car.

“I didn’t go by the book,” Leoni said. “I worked with them because it’s not always their fault.”

Although he offered uncommon bargains, Leoni said that he still depended on the business for the money it provided. In fact he said the only reason he became a mechanic was to make ends meet. While Leoni loved working with customers, he said he never enjoyed the actual work.

“It was just a way to raise a family,” Leoni said.

Despite his initial reluctance to enter the field, Leoni said he now is unsure of what’s ahead. Although he’s worked part-time at the Rosemont Theater and Soldier Field for years, he said he could see himself moving to Orlando and working with kids at Disney World — but only after he travels to Italy for at least a few weeks.

“I’m a 110 percent fan of Frank Sinatra,” said Leoni, who decorated the window of his old shop with the Sinatra song title, “The Best is Yet to Come.” “That’s the way I’m trying to look at the year ahead.”