St. Cloud Area Car Dealerships Revisited; Part Two

In part I of WJON's St. Cloud area car dealership history tour we focused on downtown St. Cloud.  We covered many but didn't get to all of them.  This feature will look at more downtown St. Cloud dealerships.  Local Historian Jim Grabinski joined me on WJON.

Eich AA & Son opened in 1898 in downtown St. Cloud selling carriages, buggies and farm equipment.  They were located at 16 7th Avenue South in St. Cloud about a block from where the courthouse currently is.  Grabinski says in the early 1900s when cars became available Eich became Eich Motor Company and sold Studebaker cars.  Studebaker was owned by the Packard Motor Company.  In 1955 Eich received a letter from Packard that indicated they were the oldest Studebaker dealership in their files.  In 1957 Eich moved to Division Street which is where they are still located.

Grundeman Motor Company was located in downtown St. Cloud on 6th Avenue North and St. Germain Street which is where the Loft apartments currently are.  Frank and Paul Grundeman owned it and sold Mercury cars.  Grundeman Motors is currently located at 3620 Roosevelt Road in south St. Cloud.

Otto Brothers was located at 301 5th Avenue South in downtown St. Cloud near what is now the Lady Slipper parking lot.  Otto Brothers sold Dodge vehicles.  Grabinski says Otto Brothers in 1979 sold to a Twin Cities dealership before Dave Lundberg bought it in 1987.  He says this dealership changed ownership 3 times in 6 years.

Litchy Motor Company was located at 14 5th Avenue North in downtown St. Cloud.  Century Link is in that location today.  St. Cloud Motor Company sold Hudson cars and they were located at 609 East St. Germain Street.  They were located across the river on what is now considered the "east end" near what was the Ace Bar and Restaurant.  Both Litchy and St. Cloud Motors operated in the 1930s and 1940s in St. Cloud.

Pearson Buick was opened by Vern Pearson in 1955.  He purchased the dealership from MeGarry Buick Company.  They were located on 9th Avenue North and Court House Square.  In July of 1962 they moved to 37th and Division Street and changed their name to Plaza Buick.  They were located near what is now Gilleland Chevrolet.

St. Cloud Tucker Inc. sold Tucker, Jeep and Willis cars until 1948.  They were located at 602 6th Avenue South and 1st Street in downtown.   Unger Motors was located at 110 6th Avenue South in downtown St. Cloud.  The location is now legal aid and the Village Family Service Center.  Grabinski says in 1910 they sold Studebaker cars and existed for 3 generations.  He says they also sold Volkswagens in the 1960s and Mazdas in the 1970s.  Grabinski says Unger retired in 2003.

Part 3 of our car dealerships revisited will examine Sauk Rapids and Foley dealerships.  If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Jim Grabinski it is available below.