A local family-owned auto dealership celebrated a major milestone last month as owners marked the 50th year in business, having made a home for themselves in Columbia for over a decade now.

Bob Brockland Buick GMC began in 1975, started by Bob Brockland Sr., though the business has since changed hands to be led by Bob Brockland Jr.

Bob Sr. looked back on his 50 years of business, recalling how things really started for him back in his hometown of Richmond Heights, Mo., where he sold tires for a few years after he graduated high school.

At 20, he decided to do a respectable amount of traveling, headed down to Mexico before coming back up to California, ultimately finding himself in Portland, Ore., his funds having dried up.

Having gotten some guidance in the automotive business from his old boss, he found work in Oregon at a Chevy dealership for a few months before moving to another dealership up in Vancouver.

Bob Sr. found himself back in St. Louis in 1964, where he worked at Vic Koenig Chevrolet in Crestwood, Mo., then moving on to Vincel Pontiac, what he described as the largest Pontiac dealership in Missouri at the time.

With all of that experience, he was presented with the opportunity to buy out a dealership in Fairmont City.

Taking over in April 1975, the business stayed there for about 20 years.

Bob Sr. recalled how his dealership was along Route 111 but ultimately had to be relocated with the completion of I-255. With the loss of traffic running near the store, they simply didn’t get the business they needed.

Working with the mayor of Cahokia at the time, Brockland found a new home there for another two decades – though some corporate requests ultimately led to its current location at 580 Old Route 3 in Columbia.

“General Motors came in and said that I needed to do some severe remodeling, very expensive,” Bob Sr. said. “We decided that we’d move down to Columbia where we presently are and have been for the last 12 years.”

He spoke quite positively about his many years operating the dealership, discussing some of the changes that have come with the business running for half a century.

Among the biggest changes he experienced came with the internet and online market. While the original Brockland location was shuttered as it wasn’t seeing enough traffic, Bob Sr. explained the dealership nowadays isn’t forced to rely on folks “kicking tires” as most tend to do their shopping online.

“The marketing end of it where location was everything, like the old-timers used to say ‘location, location, location,’” Bob Sr. said. “Obviously Columbia is better than our previous location. It’s an area that we feel like we can grow, but as far as marketing was concerned, if you did not have visibility to automobile traffic, you were kinda on the dead side, whereas today we’re probably 80 percent internet-generated.”

He further remarked that the dealership serves a rather significant radius around Columbia and then some, attracting business from all over the country.

Some aspects have hardly changed, however, as Bob Sr. noted that Brockland Buick GMC is still very much focused on taking care of its customers.

“We’re still in the people business,” Bob Sr. said. “It’s important for us to take care of every one of our customers, because if we don’t, somebody else will. We pride ourselves on our service.”

He also remarked on Brockland’s substantial 50-year milestone, noting his pleasure that it’s stayed in the family with Bob Jr. taking the reins alongside his sisters Elizabeth and Jennifer, who often go unseen as they manage the background operations of the business.

“I gotta thank the Lord that I’ve been able to stay alive that period of time,” Bob Sr. said. “It’s a family business. My son has been in the business all of his life.”

Bob Jr. also offered comment on Brockland and the milestone, noting how the dealership stands out among many that are owned by large corporate conglomerates.

“The business is ever-changing,” Bob Jr. said. “There’s still a lot of family stores, but there are more big groups today in the retail car business.”

As Bob Sr. commented on customer service, so too did Bob Jr. as he emphasized the number of repeat clients he’s seen during his lengthy tenure.

“There’s been a lot of good people that we got to work with over the years, a lot of customers that are repeat business and have become really good friends to us,” Bob Jr. said.

Looking forward to many more years of business, Bob Sr. offered further insight into Brockland’s success.

He emphasized that a business’s success is based on the people that make it up, noting how many folks at Brockland having been working there in one position or another for much of the dealership’s life, even as it’s moved locations.

“I attribute our success to the people that we’ve had,” Bob Sr. said. “The fact that we’ve been able to stay in business is that we’ve had good people, and we’ve hired good people.”

For more information on Brockland Buick GMC, call 877-466-9206 or visit brockland.com.