Ricart Automotive is getting in the motorcycle business. The Columbus-based auto dealership is acquiring the three-store A.D. FarrowHarley-Davidson
Ricart Automotive is getting in the motorcycle business.
The Columbus-based auto dealership is acquiring the three-store A.D. FarrowHarley-Davidson dealership for an undisclosed sum.
“Harley-Davidson is a brand our family is passionate about,” President Rick Ricart said in an interview. “This is an opportunity for us to diversify.”
Bob Althoff, who has owned A.D. Farrow for 18 years, will maintain a minority ownership share in the business and will stay on as a partner.
“My kids aren’t in the business,” Althoff told me. “I can’t live forever, but family can. That’s the A.D. Farrow name, the Ricart name. I could have brought this to the national market, but I needed to hand this off to better, strong hands. They’re going to do just fine.”
The two sides have been discussing a deal for more than a year, both Ricart and Althoff confirmed.
A.D. Farrow was founded in 1912.
The deal includes the Franklinton dealership at 491 W. Broad St., the store and real estate at NorthStar in Sunbury, and the Centennial Park dealership in Pataskala.
The Pataskala dealership will be relocated to 5840 Scarborough Blvd. just off Brice Road, a nearly 3-acre site acquired by a Ricart affiliate in January 2018 for $1.5 million, according to Franklin County property records.
The plan is to brand the stores as “A.D. Farrow powered by #1 Ricart.”
“The A.D. Farrow name has a 107-year history in Central Ohio,” Ricart said. “For us to eliminate that would be ridiculous.”
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