Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | October 29, 2018 | wbjournal.com C E N T R A L M AS S I N B R I E F Harr Motor Group changes hands BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer V E R BAT I M Lack of cold-storage "They provide a service of holding our pies, but unfortunately, capacity is very tight in those facilities." Table Talk Pies President Harry Kokkinis, on the lack of cold-storage space in the area driving the company to begin planning for a 27,000-square-foot freezer building Brewery destination "There's a theory out there that the retail business takes away from the distribution business, but what we're learning here is quite the opposite. Our growth in North Central Massachusetts ... is dou- ble the rest of Worcester County and surrounding markets." Wachusett Brewing Co. President Christian McMahan on the local pull the brewery has thanks to a robust local distribution operation Aggressive acquisitions "Through internal research and tuck-in acquisitions, we continue to bring meaningful innovations to market, enabling our custom- ers to deliver life-changing care to millions of patients around the world." Boston Scientific Chairman and CEO Mike Mahoney, on the company's third-quarter earnings, which included a 52-percent increase in profit H arr Motor Group in Worcester has officially been sold to compa- ny President Michael Gross from longtime owner Charles Ribakoff. e transition is reflected in a $14.3-million land deal for three sepa- rate parcels of land on which the near- ly 11-acre dealership sits on Gold Star Boulevard. e land was purchased by MG Gold Star Realty LLC, an entity registered to Gross. Gross' purchase of the property closed on Oct. 22. Gross said the transaction for the actual business closed in December. He did not provide the price of that transaction. e transition of the business was set in motion about seven years ago when Ribakoff agreed to pass the business on to Gross, the company's general manager, over a seven-year period. Pursuant to that deal, Gross is now the majority owner with a 75-percent stake in the company, while Ribakoff will stay on as the minority partner. at December deal included terms allowing Gross to purchase the real estate. e business had been in the Riba- koff family for 70 years, as Ribakoff 's father purchased the business in 1948. e younger Ribakoff then bought the business from his father in 1999. Gross had been in the car industry since his early 20s, and aer work- ing his way to a general manager's position at a dealership in New York. He entered into an agreement to take PHOTO/WBJ FILE PHOTO over that dealership, but the plan fell through and Gross began looking for a leadership position at another dealer- ship. at led him to Harr, he said. Gross, the new owner of the deal- ership, has no immediate plans for an expansion or addition of a new brand. "is is the business I've been run- ning for many years now," he said. "I don't really have any other plans than to continue what I've been doing." Gross played a leading role in turning Harr into a negotiation-free dealership in 2011, which he said has helped the store to grow. "Fortunately, we've been able to attract some talented people that really like the way we do business," he said. "It's helped us to grow to where we are today." Charles Ribakoff (right) stands with Michael Gross at Harr Motor Group. W

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