Carburetor Tater latest Lincoln repair shop

David ‘Tater’ Davis opened a small engine repair shop in Lincoln April 13, 2020, and business is going well.

Davis, who moved to Lincoln in 2012, used to work in construction. He began working on chainsaws by fixing problems with ones he owned and discovered a natural talent for small engine work. He said he had been working out of his garage and made the jump to open his own business, called Carburetor Tater, this spring. He rents half of the building at Donut’s Tires at the west end of Lincoln.

Originally from Nampa, Idaho, Davis ran away from home with a friend at age 14 and headed to Augusta, Montana.

“If you talk to my parents to this day, they’ll say it was the best decision I ever made,” said Davis, adding he’d been starting to hang out with the wrong crowd. It was around this time that Davis picked up the nickname “Tater,” owing to his Idaho roots. His parents moved to Augusta two years later, and that’s where Davis graduated high school.

This is Davis’s first business, and he said he’s enjoying it.

“I’m still having a hard time realizing I can make my own hours,” Davis said, and that there’s no set schedule. “What’s harder for me, being self-employed, I hate telling anybody no. I am so busy, for the past two and a half months, it’s been seven days a week just to stay ahead.”

Davis works on a variety of small engines, like weed-eaters and lawn mowers, and does some automative work, including brake jobs. “I even do four wheelers, dirt bikes, and side-by-sides,” said Davis. He added that part of what he enjoys about the work is being able to offer this service to Lincoln residents, saving them a trip to Missoula or Helena.

Davis said he may need to hire someone if the workload keeps up and that he’s planning to start offering a veteran’s discount in the future.

“I love serving Lincoln, because everybody helps everybody,” Davis said.