Established in 1986, North Hills Automotive has been providing thousands of our friends, neighbors and business fleet clients with the best auto service and repair the Upstate has to offer.
We are a family owned business following a 100-year-old family tradition.
Ken, Jacob, and Rob represent three generations of North Hills owners. Even though Ken is the founder of the company Jacob and Rob take ownership seriously. Each feels a sense of pride in the accomplishments of North Hills and its team members since 1986 and looks forward to the years ahead. Ken, Jacob, and Rob have seen many changes in the industry and faced many challenges over the years. They realize that every day brings new challenges and changes. The automobile repair industry is becoming more technologically driven with each new model. The Gamble family is committed not only to keeping up with the industry but staying ahead of it. Their goal is to be the most up-to-date, forward-thinking independent service center possible.
100 Years of Family Tradition
WWI was about to end. It was November of 1918 and a young man of 19 was trying to decide what to do with his life. The automobile was almost as young as he was and as his fascination for the “new” technology grew, he wanted to play a role. The teen’s name was Ken Gamble — senior, that is. Kenneth (as he was known) decided to open an “Automotive Department Store” on the corner of South Orange Ave and Sunnyside Terrace in East Orange, New Jersey. That was nearly 100 years ago.
In the Corporate office of North Hills Automotive, Ken Gamble (the III) has a picture hanging of his grandfather’s, “Automotive Department Store”. It serves as a reminder that, “this business is in my blood”. Ken (not Kenneth) worked as a mechanic during and right out of high school. He got his first job at a Sunoco Station at 18 — about the same age his grandfather was when he started.
In 1978, Ken moved his young family to Greenville, SC and in September of 1986 Ken, then 31, decided it was time to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. North Hills Automotive was born!
Today, there is a third generation of Gamble’s following their great-grandfather and father. Jacob Gamble, Ken’s oldest son, is co-owner of the business. Jacob grew up with talk of North Hills at “every meal” and started working in the shop at age 15. Upon graduation from Winthrop University in 2002, Jacob came to work full time as a Store Manager. Since then, he has endeared himself to many customers and developed a knack for getting things done on time.
More recently, Ken's youngest son, Rob Gamble joined the business in the Spring of 2018, working at the Butler Road location. Rob graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Business Marketing Major which he plans to put to good work for the family business. Thus the Gamble family legacy in the automotive industry is safe and sound.
One hundred years have passed since “Kenneth” began his “Automotive Department Store”, and now a century later the tradition continues through North Hills Automotive's commitment to state-of-the-art technology, expert technicians, and friendly customer service.
