Bmw is staying in birmingham!!!

[Raceydog]

At 12:15, Bogart's closed the doors. Apparently a deal was struck to purchase the business and reopen with European motorcycle sales. I'm pretty sure that includes BMW. Andy says he will be there as well.

[BamaBiker]

Let's hope the new owners know the true meaning of "Customer Service!"

[Raceydog]

Let's all convey our concerns and opinions to the new owners when they reopen. Maybe they will be more receptive. Hopefully they will be more active with our club from now on.

[R90srider]

Good news Jimmy.

So glad to hear that Andy will be there!

[JSparks]

Yeah, I won't have to switch to Lemon Pledge!
Jeff Sparks
R1150R

[Norwood]

Yeah, I won't have to switch to Lemon Pledge!
Jeff Sparks
R1150R

Cheaper and better !

[Raceydog]

Yeah, I won't have to switch to Lemon Pledge!
Jeff Sparks
R1150R

I don't get it.

[jdubeemer]

Did they say who the new owner is? Did they buy the building also? Or are they moving to another location? Inquiring minds would like to know.

[JSparks]

Jimmy,
In one of the threads I made some negative comments about Bogart's Parts supply and summed it up by saying that they were a good place to buy Plexis on the way to Barbers. The response was to use Lemon Pledge because it worked better and was cheaper.
Jeff Sparks
R1150R

[Raceydog]

Ahhh. I agree for the most part. Keep Andy and Kenny.

[cpannarbor]

Well that is some good news! Regardless of how anyone felt about the customer service on the sales floor, Andy is such a great guy. And having a place to walk in for parts and some conversation is always better than getting parts on the 'net. Just my $.02.

[cpannarbor]

Got a chance to talk with Andy a bit this morning. He, Kenny and an investor will be opening a shop near WorkPlay. That is projected to be in November. Until then they'll be at the now "former" Bogart's. I hope it all goes through because we would be lucky to retain this talent locally. Andy said they plan to have pricing and customer service right.

For this reason I hope we can all show our support. They bought Bogart's email list so if you are on it you should receive updates.

[gsezrider]

Jim,
From what I hear they will not be in the same place.

[JSparks]

I think it would be a great location to build on the strip that leads into the Barber's Museum / Motorsports Track. That way when people leave the museum they may stop in for an impulse buy on their way out.
Jeff Sparks
R1150R

[R90srider]

On the way back from Trey's house Friday, I stopped by the old Bogart's location. Jim Lewis and Andy were there. Low and behold, when I walked in, Jim was near the door talking to another person and greeted me with a good smile and a hello nod. I walked to the parts counter to congratulate Andy for his new baby. When the person Jim was talking to departed, Jim came over to me with his hand outstretched to introduce himself. I am very impressed with this young man (mid 30s estimate). He came to Birmingham from Maryland two years ago and was a instrumental in putting the Redmont Hotel deal together.

We had a brief conversation about the past two dealerships' problems and the potential he has in Birmingham if he made sure the customer service end of the business was not neglected. I believe he has an excellent understanding of the importance of customer relations.

During our conversation, I told him that I heard that he was planning to open his business in Birmingham on the south-side. He acknowledged that that was the case and he was talking to George Barber about property. Naturally not being bashful, I suggested to him that that would be a mistake because most folks would not be inclined to ride in downtown Birmingham and additionally, there is no good and safe place to test ride a bike. He asked me for my recommendation and I told him by far my first choice for his location is in Leeds and gave him as much detail about the surroundings and an exellent location that I know about as I could.

My first impression of Jim Lewis was good and I hope it remains positive.