Team Honda hosts Grand Opening Celebration for newly remodeled dealership

Walking into a place with that brand new smell is one thing. It’s even better when you get to do it in a celebratory fashion. On Tuesday, April 8, Team Honda in Merrillville proudly hosted its Grand Opening Celebration with the local community. Team Honda is part of the Gurley Leep Automotive Family, and both the Gurley Leep team and representatives from American Honda Motor Company were in attendance for this jubilant event.

Mike Leep Jr., president of the Gurley Leep Automotive Family, is ecstatic to see this dealership get a full remodel.

“This is a really special day for all of our team members and the guests,” Leep said. “We’re a family-owned business and we’re committed to bettering the lives of our guests. We want to make them comfortable and give our team members a second home. Nobody will spend more time here than our team members. We want them to feel good and have a wonderful place to walk into work every day.”

The new Team Honda dealership includes many key upgrades. Not only is this a bigger space, but it will allow for customers to get their service done in a timely fashion.

“We work really hard to create a world class experience for our guests,” Leep said. “The new store is 40,235 square feet, which is an increase of about 5,300 square feet. Along with the added capacity, we’ve added a mother’s lactation room and a state-of-the-art car wash. Sometimes it would take longer to wash the car than an oil change. Our new car wash has a conveyor belt set to wash 79 cars an hour. We’re ready for more business.”

Hobart Mayor Josh Huddlestun was in attendance to support Team Honda’s celebration. He was dazzled when he got to see the inside of the new dealership for the first time.

“This is a beautiful facility,” Huddlestun said. “I walked in and I was instantly talking to people about how gorgeous the showroom is and the customer experience when people first step through the door. It shows progress and that things are on the move. On behalf of the City of Hobart, we’re excited for the investment here that’s been made for the community.”

Chip Walker, president of Custom Facilities, is a specialist when it comes to building car dealerships. Between building and remodeling, he’s worked on almost 600 car dealerships. He was excited about the opportunity to share his expertise with the Gurley Leep Automotive Family in putting this project together.

“This was a really hard project,” Walker said. “Remodels are difficult because you have to stay open, but the results are great. The folks from Team Honda helped guide us along the way. It’s an absolute privilege to work with the Gurley Leep team. Their priorities are correct and they put the team members and customers above everything else.”

Luis Guerra, central region director for the American Honda Motor Company, has a strong partnership with the Gurley Leep team. He was impressed with how the customer activity at Team Honda seemed to stay active throughout the construction process.

“We usually always see a dip in sales when dealerships start construction, but there really wasn’t a whole lot of it here,” Guerra said. “I think that really comes down to the commitment and dedication of the employees more than anything else. You can truly see that this group takes care of their customers. We love this partnership and being able to play a part in getting this done.”

Some customers celebrated with Team Honda for this grand opening party. The employees can’t wait to get started with helping these guests in this new dealership for many years to come.

“The support we’ve had from our community over the years has been amazing,” Leep said. “Everything was built with the mindset of the customer experience, as well as our team members. We’re also happy to already see some job creation here since we’ve remodeled the store. We’ve already hired five additional technicians and two sales professionals. This is exactly what I envisioned when we built it, and we’re super excited that everybody else is seeing the value of it too.”

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, Team Honda welcomed everyone to spin their “Wheel of Wow” for a chance to leave with a special prize. This included pint glasses, hats, car coasters, wiper inserts, gas cards, free car washes, free tire rotations with an oil change, and $500 off a new car. The wheel also included a spinner’s choice option.

A photo booth and tours were available for all attendees. The event also included a complimentary ice cream truck, fresh treats, and a Team Honda celebration cake.

For more information on Team Honda, you can visit its website.