A new RV dealership will open Nov. 2 on Sarasota, Fla.’s South Trail by a business that is being acquired by a Fort Lauderdale-based company.
This story by Terry Galvin originally appeared in the Herald Tribune.
The RV One Superstores dealership is being prepared on the site of a former Mercedes Benz dealership at 6914 S. Tamiami Trail, just south of Stickney Point Road.
RV One, a 34-year-old Albany, New York-based chain of five stores, is being bought by RV Retailer, which was founded this year in Fort Lauderdale.
The new Sarasota store will remain under the RV One brand and the chain will continue to be managed by Don Strollo, whose father founded the company, according to a news release. Don Strollo will also retain a significant ownership stake in the business.
Matt Strollo, another son of the founder, will be on hand to open the new store.
“Our closest store now is Tampa,” Matt Strollo said, “and we see so many customers already from this area that this was a natural progression for us to help serve closer to the community.”
The site, a former AutoNation Mercedes Benz dealership vacant for about four years, includes some three paved acres and a 10,000-square-foot building with a showroom, Don Strollo said in an email.
“We’ve renovated the site with new landscaping and facility updates to be ready for its use starting on the 2nd,” he said. The dealership is hiring 22 employees, he said. The brands it will sell include Jayco, Keystone, Airstream, Entegra, Winnebago and Rockwood.
