DAYTONA BEACH — A partnership group that includes veteran auto dealers Gary Yeomans and Terry Taylor has agreed to purchase the Hendrick Honda Daytona dealership on North Nova Road. Yeomans confirmed that his group is in the process of acquiring the Honda dealership from Charlotte, North Carolina-based Hendrick Automotive Group. The sale is expected to close in June. Plans call for most of the dealership’s employees to be retained, Yeomans said. The dealership, upon completion of the sale, will be renamed Gary Yeomans Honda. Yeomans said he and his partners intend to relocate the dealership early next year to a location along North Tomoka Farms Road where they plan to build a new facility. Yeomans did not disclose how much he and his partners are paying to acquire the Honda dealership.
Hendrick Automotive Group purchased and renamed the former Jon Hall Honda dealership in 2011. The dealership has been a fixture at 330 N. Nova Road in Daytona Beach since it opened in 1971 under original owner Jon Hall. Hendrick Automotive Group is led by founder Rick Hendrick, known to NASCAR fans as the owner of Hendrick Motorsports. The future home of Gary Yeomans Honda is near CarMax and Furniture Row, on the west side of Tomoka Farms Road, Yeomans said. The future location is just south of Daytona International Auto Mall, where Yeomans and Taylor own several dealerships including Gary Yeomans Ford and Daytona Nissan. The Auto Mall stretches 1.5 miles along Tomoka Farms Road, just west of Interstate 95, from LPGA Boulevard to the Dunn Avenue overpass.
Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. recently announced a pending $2.9 million sale of 30 acres immediately south of CarMax but did not identify the buyers. The land sale is expected to close this spring, said Consolidated-Tomoka CEO John Albright. Hendrick Honda Daytona employees were recently informed about the dealership’s pending sale, Yeomans said. The News-Journal was unable to reach Hendrick Honda Daytona General Manager Rafael Reyes, who is on vacation, for comment. Reyes did not immediately respond to an email inquiry.
“We have entered a agreement to purchase 10-plus acres south of CarMax and move the dealership to this location when a new dealership is built,” Yeomans told The News-Journal in an email. “We hope to be in the new location in 10 months.” The future home of Gary Yeomans Honda will stock more than 800 new and used Hondas, and will have 35 service bays, Yeomans said. The building will be approximately 50,000 square feet in size.
The city has yet to receive a building permit application for the planned auto dealership facility, said Mike Garrett, director of permits and licensing. He added, however, that Yeomans has a track record of accomplishing what he sets out to do. “We plan on retaining the current staff, plus adding around 40 more employees once the move has been completed,” Yeomans said, adding, “Our forecast call for selling over 300 new and used Hondas per month.” The future home of Gary Yeomans Honda will include outdoor parking for up to 800 vehicles as well as “a beautiful customer reception area and customer lounge with many added amenities,” Yeomans said. The addition of Gary Yeomans Honda will include the number of different auto brands along North Tomoka Farms Road in Daytona Beach to 19, with plans “still in the works for added brands to locate to the area and one will be announced we hope in the near future that will be added inside the Auto Mall,” Yeomans said.