Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson and Charlotte-based Hendrick Automotive Group are partnering to open one of the Triangle’s largest car dealerships.
The 75,000-square-foot Reggie Jackson Airport Honda dealership will open Jan. 4 on 19 acres at 9530 Lumley Road in Raleigh. It will be Hendrick’s biggest facility in the area, eclipsing Durham’s Hendrick Southpoint Auto Mall, which hosts four franchises under one roof.
Jackson — known as “Mr. October” for his legendary performances in several World Series — has owned an interest in Florida’s Rick Hendrick Chevrolet Naples since 2015. But the 1993 Hall of Fame inductee, five-time World Series champion, two-time World Series MVP and one-time American League MVP has been searching for a chance to launch his own venture.
“Reggie and Mr. (Rick) Hendrick have been friends for a very long time, and Reggie has been excited about getting into the business,” said Shaye Johnson, general manager of the new dealership. “So it’s Reggie’s dealership and Hendrick Automotive is providing the operational support and everything forward.”
The Honda dealership will open with 300 new and used vehicles on the lot. The complex will include 48 service bays, plus a lounge, coffee bar and snack bar.
“It is really a huge goal for the company and Reggie to deliver just an over the top experience for the customer,” Johnson said. “The lounge is super sizable. We’ve got a quiet area for people that want to get on a conference call and open their laptop. We’ve got a play area for the smaller kids, and for bigger kids there’s a game room that’s going to have arcade games and things like that.”
Reggie Jackson Airport Honda will join more than 130 Hendrick franchises nationwide. Hendrick Automotive Group is the largest privately held automotive retail organization in the country with more than 10,000 employees — 1,200 between Durham, Apex and Cary dealerships. Jackson’s dealership has created 70 new jobs “and counting,” Johnson said.