A new used car dealership and garage opened up on the corner of Routes 66 and 24 in Chenoa last October. Superior Auto Sales of Chenoa is the dream of a group of friends, led by 18-year-old business owner Cody Gizhoski and his brother and general sales manager, 21-year-old J.P. Gizhoski.
The brothers are the sons of Bash and Sally Gizhoski, owners of the Chenoa Family Restaurant, which is next door. They got permission from their parents to build a small dealership and garage on an empty corner of the property and began work on the facility, with the help of Central Illinois Buildings, last July. By October, the work was finished and not long after that, Cody and his brother opened the dealership.
“Growing up, I was always into cars and trucks and enjoyed working on them,” Cody said. “I had a 2005 Mustang that was pretty souped up. Everyone in town recognized me because of that car and I would take it to car shows and stuff like that around the area.
“I have always wanted to open a dealership. Prior to starting the dealership, I was working as a host at my parents’ restaurant, but I was really looking to start my own business, so I talked it over with them and we made it happen.”
The next step after completing the building was to find some used cars to sell on the lot. Gizhoski said finding used cars is a process, but he’s been working with local dealerships in the area to pick up a vehicle here and there.
“They get a lot of trade-ins and I work with the dealerships to purchase their used cars,” Gizhoski said. “We’ve been slowly picking our inventory up because we want to have a little bit of something for everybody. Right now we’ve got about 80 vehicles on the lot, we try to offer a little bit of everything from BMW to Fords, Hondas, trucks, vans, SUVs and even a few little coupes.”
Although it’s only been open for a few months, Gizhoski reports business has been pretty good. One thing he was somewhat worried about initially, was that people wouldn’t take them seriously because of their age. However, Gizhoski believes his staff handles itself well and says people have been surprised by what they can do.
“We’re confident in our work,” he said. “We’re working to create a good reputation in the community and to do that, customer satisfaction is key. Our slogan is, ‘buy with confidence.’ Our family has owned the restaurant next door for more than 30 years, so we plan to establish ourselves the same way our parents did, we want to be here for the long haul.”
On the business end, J.P. says the processes are just about what he expected.
“We have a family friend in Springfield who owns a dealership and he was showing us the ropes. He helps us with paperwork and stuff,” he said. “So far, it’s been a little bit of a learning process, but I feel like we’ve got the hang of it.
“We are a group of young guys who are trying to follow our dreams and learn the tricks of the trade along the way. We’re a dealership you can trust and make the car buying process fun again.”
Superior Auto Sales of Chenoa is located at 508 W. Cemetery Ave., Chenoa. They are open Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The business specializes in brake work, tune-ups, detailing and used car sales. For more information, call 815-945-1044.
