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Kentucky dealership buys big-box store to make room for shark tank, car museum, cafe
Chris Fannin knew it was time to move the family business. He had been eyeing a big-box store outside Ashland, Ky., that once housed a Lowe's home-improvement store. Moving from a cobbled-together, 47,000-square-foot dealership selling Lincoln, Mercury, Toyota and Scion vehicles into a site with a 140,000-square-foot potential seemed unrealistic. Yet intriguing.
The new location would multiply the amount of drive-by traffic. It had a lot of parking space as well as land for future buildings. And the main building could accommodate a second floor.
It would mean moving six miles, from Flatwoods (population 7,600) in Greenup County to Ashland (population 35,000) in Boyd County. That would put the store within reach of car shoppers in West Virginia and Ohio.
It also meant investing $15 million in the kind of destination dealership that Fannin had in mind. "We worked on this building for two years and finally moved in October of 2005, "he says.
And that's when floor traffic began to triple.
Swimming with sharks
Fannin's plans to include a car museum, cafe and shark tank in the new location raised eyebrows at Toyota. Design specialists "thought I was crazy, "he recalls.
The 32-year-old Fannin, who is general manager, had visited a restaurant in the South with a big fish tank that fascinated customers. He liked that idea. A friend who understands museum design helped him with his 40-car display of special vehicles, including pace cars.
He wanted to incorporate a place where people could get a meal or relax with coffee or another beverage. The cafe seats 130 and offers full service, open 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays.
Besides the possibility of attracting people to...