New Toyota dealer pledges service for Orange

The longtime Toyota dealership in Orange has a new name, a new giant Texas flag, new construction plans, and a new owner.

That owner, Rick Jones, though, isn't focusing all on the visible. He's pledging a new reputation for the dealership along Interstate 10.

"There's no where else but to go up," he said. "It was 1,000 percent a troubled dealership."

The previous owner of the past decade became part of talk around the county concerning misleading advertising and sales pitches, plus poor work in the service department.

Jones said Toyota has 13,070 dealerships in the U.S. and the Orange one was ranked 13,067.

He isn't pledging only improved service at the store. He's ready to plunge donations and time into community projects. "That dealership (the previous one) didn't have a servant's heart," he said.

He and the new general manager, Mike Grewenig, have already become interested in youth sports. Behind the dealership property is Memorial Field, the 75-year-old complex where four generations have played youth baseball and softball. It's a perfect for them to help out.

Jones also owns Toyota dealerships in New Orleans and Oklahoma City, plus GM dealerships in St. Louis and Raleigh, North Carolina. His family has ties and roots in Texas and he enjoys the Louisiana area. Orange on the border of the two states offers a mix of the cultures he enjoys.

He said the Toyota corporation asked him to take over the Orange dealership. A look at the economic indicators of the area helped make the decision.

The Southeast Texas-Southwest Louisiana area is one of the leading parts of the country growing in construction, industry, and population. Orange County is in the center of the growth with the new $8.5 billion Chevron-Phillips Golden Triangle Polymers chemical plant under construction.

But an economic boom won't guarantee sales for a business. Jones began with hiring all new employees, except for the accounting department. He also brought in department heads experienced in the car business. More new staff will be hired and trained.

The inventory of new and used cars will be increasing. That will include Toyota gasoline-using hybrid vehicles, now offered in the brand's pickup trucks and SUVs.

He's also planning expansion. "In the next 24 months, we will have a major remodeling or new construction," he said. He's already met with the city of Orange's Economic Development Corporation to discuss the plans.

Jones and Grewenig began their new leadership on Monday, September 30. Three days later, they were already enamored with the local culture, especially the food at Spanky's.

"I hear there's also a trained chef from an old prominent family," Jones said about David C. Claybar's Old Orange Cafe.

Grewenig even asks if they might really see an alligator in the lot. After all, with Adams Bayou only a short distance away. It's a possibility.

That leads to Jones recalling a story from his New Orleans dealership, which he acquired after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. He said a canal runs behind the business and one day, someone spotted a large gator in the canal.

A couple of guys went out and bought some chicken thighs, which were attached to a giant hook and rope. When the gator took the bait and hook, the guys pulled it onto the parking lot and shot him. "Then they started arguing over who was going to get the tail to eat," he said.

Maybe that helps explain the Texana name for the dealership. Sure, Texana, derived from Spanish, refers to the Texas culture. In Orange, Texas culture blends with Louisiana's, forming a unique Tex-ana.

Jones, Grewenig, and their team are ready to immerse themselves in this Tex-ana for customers and community.