Dowagiac business owner Brian Antisdel will soon bring his computer repair services to the Niles Main Street district.
The computer repair and software development company AllWeb Software & Design will open in approximately two weeks at 313 E. Main St. While the official opening date has not been decided at this time, Antisdel said the open house would include a barbecue cook out.
For the past five years, Antisdel has operated the computer repair store IT3, at 146 N. Front St. in Dowagiac with his wife, Tammy Antisdel. After seeing many Niles residents make the approximate 13-mile trek to the Dowagiac location, Antisdel said he wanted to bring the services closer to his customers’ homes.
AllWeb Software & Design will offer customers affordable computer repair, virus removal and board level repair, as well as webpage design and tools for corporate networking. Through these services, Antisdel said he hopes to help Niles businesses establish themselves on the virtual map.
“My hope is to help bring business into the downtown through social media,” Antisdel said.
Antisdel has also established a camera on the face of the building at 313 E. Main, which gives online viewers a glimpse down on the Niles Main Street district. Certain news organizations will utilize the view for weather and traffic updates, Antisdel said.
Antisdel also hopes to have a technology room for children, where they can test out some of the gear.
Antisdel has also played a role in establishing the website UncoverNiles.com, where people can find out the latest events and activities happening in Niles.
While offering more affordable rates than the big-box stores is one quality that helps the computer store stand out, Antisdel said at the core of his business is the aim to better the community by helping those in need.
Like his Dowagiac store, Antisdel said he would refurbish old computers and donate them to those that could otherwise not afford a computer.
“I pick it up and I take it to a family that I have verified needs a computer,” Antisdel said. “It is not all about the computers. It is about the people in the community.”
The store will offer Pokagon tribal and veteran discounts.
Additionally, Antisdel offers free food and a safe place to stay to those in need, he said.
Antisdel is influenced to give because he said he once dealt with homelessness as a 14-year-old in Dowagiac.
He got into the computer trade after he was mentored by a girlfriend’s dad, Ron Fields, in Lexington, Kentucky who worked in the trade. The work inspired Antisdel to pursue studies at the University of Kentucky in networking. He is now HP certified and Microsoft certified.
Now, Antisdel helps other people learn the tricks of the trade.
For the store, Antisdel has hired three full-time employees, who he is training to become certified through paid internships. One of the employees is a veteran, the other disabled and the third was formerly homeless, Antisdel said.
For Antisdel, it is about hiring people that deserve a second chance.
“People are smart. You just have to show them what they are smart at,” Antisdel said.
Antisdel said he also plans to partner with the local Custom Computer Company, which opened in January.
“We are kind of hand in glove,” Antisdel said.
Antisdel will recommend Custom Computer Company to customers when needed and if he needs a part, the storeowner is the first one he will call.
The ultimate goal is to provide the best computer service across the community to those that need it, he said.