Bryan Hecksher: From Hubcaps to Maseratis and Everything in Between
It all started when he was 15. Bryan Hecksher was fascinated by the style and variety of automobile hubcaps; scarfing them up from the side of the road and stockpiling them in his parents’ garage. Word spread around his home town of Lester, PA that Bryan’s house was the place to find those missing wheel covers, and the youthful entrepreneur was more than happy to oblige. Money talks, nobody walks.
It wasn’t long before that garage and 90% of the back yard held a mountain of the shiny discs. In fact, the business was so profitable that Bryan continued to serve as the local hubcap maven until he was 22 years old. When he was in school, he paid his mom 50% commission on every piece sold. When he finally closed up shop, the collection filled three 18-wheel tractor trailers.
When he graduated high school in ’82, he made a beeline to the local Chrysler dealer to buy his first car. Perhaps because of his age, the salesperson was off-handed and rude. Not particularly known for his shyness, Bryan marched himself into the manager’s office and complained loudly. The manager eyed the young upstart and said, “OK, if you can do a better job, why don’t you sell cars for me!” He jumped at the chance, and was so impressive that he was soon hired away by the local Buick dealer. He was still so young that their insurance precluded him from driving the demos.
Bryan longed, in his words, “to make a positive mark on the world.” And to that end he enrolled in the Administration of Justice program at Delaware County Community College in Delaware County, PA. He joined the police force in 1987. His short career in law enforcement culminated in his being hit head-on by a drunk driver (driving a trash truck, yet). Because of his injuries, he could no longer work as a policeman, but after a long recuperation he began a new career as a juvenile corrections officer at the Delaware (County) Juvenile Detention Center. Bryan just as effectively made his positive mark on the world by helping rehabilitate young offenders. He liked the work, but he never stopped thinking about cars.
In 1992, he returned full-time to the Buick dealer, but wanted to expand his sales to a wider variety of vehicles. So around ’95, he joined a large Ford dealer in Springfield, PA, frequently selling 30 cars and trucks a month. He moved to another Ford dealer, soon beating his own record by selling forty six and-a-half cars in one month. He smiles as he explains that he needed the help of another salesperson for one sale, so he counts that as half a car.
Hecksher was certainly not “out” in these small Pennsylvania towns where his reputation could be called into question by the ignorant and uninformed. But that didn’t stop him from regularly traveling to Rehoboth Beach so, in his words, “I could be respected for who I am.” He so loved the “camaraderie and community” that, in 2004, he pulled up stakes and moved here full-time.
He settled into an apartment in downtown Rehoboth and began to sell for Lee F. Slaughter Fine Cars. Instead of Fords, Buicks, and Chryslers, Bryan was now applying his talents to BMWs, Jags, Mercedes, and even the occasional Rolls and Bentley. When the dealership was about to change hands in 2007, Bryan’s first reaction was to move back to Pennsylvania. Then he thought about his “many true friends,” not to mention the precious freedom to be himself.
So, in the spirit of that kid hawking hubcaps, he opened Auto Gallery in Lewes. He and his best friend Mark Noble remodeled it by themselves. Total inventory on opening day? Four cars. Now look at the place!
Bryan counts his women friends as among his most cherished. Because he drives a truck, wears flannel, is handy with power tools (they call his repair shop the “Garage Mahal”), his friend Bonnie Quesenberry dubbed him the “Alpha Lesbian.”
As the only openly gay-owned car dealership in Sussex County, Auto Gallery contributes to a myriad of local causes. He provides transportation for celebrities who attend Delaware’s Gay Pride, and was one of the first supporters of Gay Bingo. He provides trucks for the Equality for DE Annual Food Drive, and supports the recently-relocated-with-great-fanfare Jusst Sooup Ministry. When the DC Cowboys come ridin’ in, Bryan’s cars shuttle them around town.
Bryan was 46 years old before he felt comfortable coming out to his parents. He doesn’t want anybody to feel the uneasiness and anxiety he felt for so long, so he keeps his dealership “heteroflexible”; employing people based on their talents, not their sexual proclivities. He makes it clear that he proudly serves the “LGBTQS” community. (The Q and S stand for questioning and straight.)
“If I treat everybody equally,” he says, “maybe it will catch on.” Those who are fortunate enough to count Bryan as a friend know that he means it.
Bob Yesbek is a Rehoboth Beach resident. Contact Bob Yesbek