Planning for the future, a family-owned Hermiston auto dealership recently relocated to a new facility in town that has room to grow.

Sherrell Chevrolet moved from East Main Street to 2258 N. First St., Hermiston, in November and hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.

Owner Dave Christiansen said many people attended the ribbon cutting, and the new location is working out well.

We were at 296 East Main since 1966, he said. The reason we built the new facility is that we were growing, and the only way we could expand was to build a new facility to better serve our customers in the community.

The business services and sells new and used vehicles, and the new facility features a larger shop area and a modern customer lounge, Christiansen said.

The facility is twice the size as it was before, he said. Its more convenient and more modern. We have a lot of things available to our customers that we didnt have at our old location.

The business started planning for the move about two and a half years ago. Christiansen said, after a year in the planning stage and a year of construction, the new facility opened in the fall.

Its just working out awesome. The customers love it. Our employees really enjoy it, he said. We have a lot of potential for growth in the new location. We wanted to make it as convenient as possible for the customer.

Repeat customers account for 80 percent of monthly business, including some who have been purchasing vehicles from Sherrell Chevrolet for nearly 50 years, Christiansen said.

We have been a family-owned business for 70 years, he said. We started in Arlington, Oregon, in 1945.

The business has passed from Al and Gladys Sherrell to Rich and Donna Sherrell and now to their daughter, Christiansens wife, Kari.

My wife and I became part owners several years ago, and we purchased the business from her folks about two years ago, so weve been here a long time, he said. I actually started here when I was 16 years old, detailing cars.

Christiansen said he worked in the parts and sales departments before becoming a manager, and he enjoys his job.

I love the car business. Its something I have a passion for, he said. Its a fun business to be in because every day is different. You deal with a lot of really awesome people. Its challenging, its fun and its exciting.

Two of Christiansens sons already work for the family business Tyler, 22, who is the service manager, and Carter, 18, in sales and he hopes son Brady, who will soon turn 16, will work there in the future.

We built this (new facility) for the future of the business, so the business could expand and we could give it on to the future generation, Christiansen said.