Pat O’Brien handed down his last auto store, located in Vermilion, to his son.
The signage at the dealership on state Route 60 was changed April 6 from Pat O’Brien Chevrolet to Firelands Chevrolet on the same day the purchase was finalized, according to Toni Garbo, marketing manager for the dealership.
“I’m very excited,” said the proud new owner, Patrick O’Brien. “It’s a great opportunity. It’s a gorgeous facility.”
O’Brien, 44, founded Firelands Auto Group in 2017 and now it consists of four dealerships in the Lorain, Erie and Huron counties.
The auto group has two dealerships in Sandusky that sell Toyota, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, while the Norwalk and Vermilion stores are Chevrolet dealerships, O’Brien said.
O’Brien started his career at Auto Nation where he worked until 2005 when his father, Pat O’Brien, 71, asked him to come aboard his new dealership venture.
Pat O’Brien Chevrolet had five dealerships at one point from Norwalk to Willoughby, and was considered the largest Chevrolet dealership in the country, Patrick O’Brien said.
Over the years, Pat O’Brien made decisions to sell some of the dealerships and retain others, such as the Norwalk and Vermillion facilities.
The Vermillion facility, in his son’s opinion, is the best facility his dad has built.
“It’s a gorgeous facility,” Patrick O’Brien said.
The elder O’Brien waited to sell the dealership to give his son time to buy it.
Meanwhile, the younger O’Brien was busy purchasing another facility during the time of the decision that was made to sell the Vermilion facility, said Patrick O’Brien, adding that he is very grateful to his father for the opportunity.
Currently, the Firelands Auto Group has more than 1,000 vehicles in its inventory.
Due to challenges such as availability and shipping delays, the dealership is experiencing “unchartered territory” like most other businesses in the country right now, Patrick O’Brien said.
“It can be anything from a spark plug, to a chip that’s made in China, and they’re on shut down and it affects the entire automotive industry,” he said explaining the current supply shortage of not only parts, but his inventory as well.
Regardless, Patrick O’Brien is carrying on the family tradition of selling people vehicles in a style all their own.
“I’d like to keep growing,” he said. “It’s a great business and I enjoy it.
“And we’ve expanded a lot, and we’d like to keep it going.”
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April 09, 2022 at 09:01PM
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