Car dealership coming to town

By Staff
FCT staff writer Melissa Dozier-Cason
Demolition crews, with a bulldozer in tow, arrived at the old Electric Beach building Wednesday afternoon, and left nothing of the old building to make room for a car dealership.
This vacant spot will be the home of Long Lewis Russellville, an extension of Long-Lewis Ford in Muscle Shoals, Ed Blackburn, manager for Long Lewis Russellville, said.
The new car center will house between 70 to 100 new and used cars. The car dealership plans to open by early January, Blackburn said.
The dealership will offer all same services as the Muscle Shoals dealership including in house financing. Long Lewis began the in house financing in Muscle Shoals about a year ago, and it has been successful, Blackburn said.
The new business will employ two sales people who are now training at the Muscle Shoals location so that they will be ready when the new store opens, Blackburn said.
"We are going to share office staff with the Muscle Shoals store, but we will add services as needed to the new location," Blackburn said.
Long-Lewis has contracted T&D Land Development to construct the new building, which will be approximately twice as large as the old Electric Beach building, Blackburn said.
"We are going to repair the old metal building in the back, and add on to the front," David Cole, construction crew supervisor, said.
Long-Lewis plans to open the new dealership around the first of the year.