For decades, the commercial corridors of North Omaha were the economic engine of working-class and middle-class community life. While local memory celebrates North 24th Street as Omaha’s historic “Street of Dreams” and North 30th Street as a central driving spine, an essential commercial chapter has often been overlooked, and that has to do with where the cars came from. This is a history of car dealerships in North Omaha.

The Reality of Driving

Throughout much of the twentieth century, residents living north of Dodge Street and east of 72nd Street did not need to travel out of the neighborhood or out to western strip malls to buy an automobile. Dealerships selling popular national makes—including Chevrolet, Ford, Plymouth, Chrysler, and Studebaker—as well as long-standing independent used car dealers, anchored intersections throughout Saratoga, Kountze Place, Kenwood, and Miller Park.

There was a lot of infrastructure in North O to support these car dealers, too. The earliest pavement on Omaha’s streets was in the community. Starting in the 1910s, I estimate more than 500 gas stations have been located north of Dodge and east of 72nd. There even a few factories that manufactured vehicles in North Omaha. When streetcars were taken out of service in 1955, there were dozens and dozens of miles of track in the community that would eventually be removed or paved over, and when freeways were opened in Omaha a decade later, several cut through the community. Early in North Omaha’s history, there were even several car racing tracks located in the community!

Its also important to note that first-ever Black car dealer in Omaha was Leon H. Ray (1901-1991), who ran his own used car dealership at 24th and Grant in the 1940s and 1950s. The next African American dealer in Omaha opened in the 1980s in west Omaha.

Dewey Chevrolet

The longest-running automotive sales enterprise in North Omaha was Dewey Chevrolet. Founded by small-town native Wilbur E. Dewey (1888–1966), the business began after Dewey shifted from racing and selling motorcycles to retail automobile sales. In 1921, impressed by the Chevrolet Motor Company’s dealer relations, Dewey opened his first showroom near North 24th and Spaulding Streets (at 3815 North 24th Street) on the edge of the Kountze Place neighborhood.

Dewey Chevrolet operated on North 24th Street for thirty-five years, sponsoring local Soap Box Derby racers and racing modified Chevrolets in regional dirt-track circuits with shop manager Herman K. Lefler (1889–1962).

In 1956, reflecting the postwar shift toward North 30th Street, the dealership constructed a four-and-a-half-acre facility at 4200 North 30th Street featuring a modern new car showroom, an outdoor used car lot, and an expanded body and paint shop. In 1965, longtime general manager L.L. Smith acquired an ownership stake, and the firm briefly did business as Dewey-Smith Chevrolet.

Following Wilbur Dewey’s death in 1966, his son Jack E. Dewey (1918–1992) became president. Jack Dewey maintained operations on North 30th Street until 1976, when urban disinvestment, limited expansion space, and suburban sprawl led to the closure of the North Omaha site and the transfer of the franchise into Huber Chevrolet.

Burkhard-Gerelick Ford

Another foundational dealership serving the community was the Burkhard-Gerelick Ford dealership. Established in 1947 by Vince Burkhard (1896–1991) and former collegiate basketball standout Phil Gerelick (1906–1986), Burkhard-Gerelick Motors initially opened at the corner of Florence Boulevard and Ames Avenue.

In 1949, the firm built a dedicated sales and service showroom at 4719 North 30th Street (between Fowler and Larimore Avenues) in the Kenwood–Holy Angels area, marketing themselves as “the North Omaha representative of Ford Motors.” In 1948, as part of Ford Motor Company’s national public relations campaign, the dealership sponsored a visit by baseball legend Babe Ruth to North Omaha and Boys Town.

Burkhard sold his share of the business to Gerelick in February 1954, and the business continued as Phil Gerelick Ford for an additional twenty-five years. Following the closure of the Ford dealership, the building served as a construction office for the Nebraska Department of Roads during the development of the North Freeway before being demolished in the early 1980s.

Bunches of Car Dealers Around North Omaha

There were clusters of car dealers throughout the community. These were intersections or streets or neighborhoods that were busiest ones in North O, each one kind of packed with car dealers.

The First Spot

North 24th Street, the cultural and economic spine of the Near North Side, developed automobile businesses that integrated directly into its pedestrian-heavy commercial streetscape from the earliest years of car sales in Omaha. Instead of the huge car lots of later suburban dealerships further north, the businesses here were deeply rooted in the community. Wilbur Dewey (1886-1966) laid the foundation for his automotive empire here with Dewey Chevrolet at 3815 North 24th, which anchored the neighborhood near Spaulding for 35 years before migrating to 30th Street. Just off 24th, Leon’s Auto Exchange operated at 2402 Blondo Street, where Leon Ray established Omaha’s first Black-owned auto dealership in the 1940s. These lots provided vital sales, repairs, and financing within close proximity to neighborhood residents.

The 30th Street Auto Row

After WWII, North 30th Street was the commercial heavyweight of North Omaha’s car dealers. Driven by growing mid-century auto ownership and ample parcel sizes north of Fort Omaha, major franchises shifted away from older neighborhood commercial hubs onto this wide arterial.

The corridor was anchored by massive suburban operations, most notably Dewey Chevrolet (later Dewey-Smith) at 4200 North 30th, Burkhard-Gerelick Ford and its successor Gerelick Ford at 4719 North 30th, and satellite used lots extending south toward Sprague and north toward Larimore. Further north by Fort Omaha, Jourdan Motors held down the corner of 30th and Camden Avenue, selling new Chryslers and Plymouths alongside used cars of all kinds. The whole intersection of 30th and Fort was a hoping spot for car cruisers from the 1950s through the 1960s, and along with the car dealer it had a gas station, two drive-ins, and parking lot space for hanging out.

In later decades, the expansive acreage along 30th Street continued hosting pre-owned operations, with the last of the used car dealers moving away in the 1980s.

The Saratoga Dealers

The intersection where Ames Avenue met Florence Boulevard formed North Omaha’s earliest automotive retail center. Because Florence Boulevard was a prized scenic thoroughfare and Ames Avenue was a vital east-west transit and streetcar line, the junction naturally attracted early automotive entrepreneurs.

In the 1910s, Nichols-Rice Motor Company established one of the city’s early Ford agencies at Florence Boulevard and Ames Avenue, a lineage that later transitioned into Burkhard-Gerelick Motors in the late 1940s before that dealership relocated further north to 30th Street. On the opposite corner, the Prettiest Mile Motor Company operated during the 1920s to capture boulevard customers. Located by 24th and Ames in the 1940s was the home of Barish Motors selling Chrysler and Plymouth at 2403 Ames, and Wolfson Used Cars was at 24th and Ames for decades.

The last car dealers in Florence left in the early 1960s.

16th Street Car Dealers

Just north of Dodge Street, early automotive dealers started as an offshoot of the commercial and manufacturing area in downtown Omaha. Wilbur Dewey started his car sales here with the Excelsior Motor Company at 16th and Capitol Avenue in the North Downtown area. He started by selling motorcycles and early vehicles before moving into selling full car sales. The Ford Truck Factory at 16th and Cuming, along with gas stations throughout the area and more, brought a lot of car sales to North 16th Street. Further north along the same strip was Richman-King Motor Company at 1516 North 16th Street in 1940.

Located on the early industrial fringe of the inner city, easy access to downtown commercial traffic made it an important area for showrooms and used-car lots.

Benson’s Car Sellers

Located in downtown Benson, Military Avenue was the western car capital of Omaha for a long time. Acting like it’s own downtown before and after annexation in 1917, Benson had its own auto row for decades. Frank V. Hulac (1906-1999) kept the corridor intact for over three decades with Hulac Chevrolet at 6120 Military Avenue. When independent dealerships became popular in Benson in the late 20th century, Military Ave’s auto facilities were continuously reused, with Autocorp of Omaha taking over the former Hulac site and U Own It Auto Sales setting up nearby at 6311 Military.

Surrounding blocks, including 61st and Blondo as well as North 63rd Street, naturally absorbed the car sales through dealers like Able’s Auto Sales and Jackson’s Motors. Today there are still used dealers in Benson.

Dealers Heading West

Connecting the Near North Side and North Downtown with points west, the corridors of Cuming Street, Northwest Radial Highway, and Saddle Creek Road created high-visibility traffic triangles ideal for vehicle sales. Sonny Gerber Auto Sales started their longtime foothold on Cuming Street in the early 1950s, while Wolfson Used Cars expanded to North Saddle Creek Road in the late 1950s. Near the junction of Northwest Radial Highway and 47th Street, Fett City Motors capitalized on the heavy commuting flows heading toward Benson. Although it doesn’t seem west today, Mowery Auto Sales was at 1518 Military Avenue for 38 years starting in 1924, and ultimately signaled every other dealer’s westward movement after that.

These locations bridged the residential neighborhoods of North Omaha with the central city’s major automotive trade routes.

Disinvestment and White Flight

The suburbanization of Omaha after World War II, combined with discriminatory redlining and municipal disinvestment in North Omaha, reshaped the regional car market. The construction of the North Freeway (Highway 75) and Interstate 480 sliced through surrounding residential neighborhoods, displacing thousands of families and severing traditional commercial connections.

By the mid-1970s, new car franchises began relocating west to arterial highways like West Dodge Road. While neighborhood garages, auto repair shops, and independent lots remained, the era of major regional franchised auto dealerships in North Omaha came to a close. Today, the sites where Dewey, Burkhard-Gerelick, and Jourdan once sold cars stand as markers of a self-contained, thriving commercial era in North Omaha’s history.

Directory of Past Car Dealers in North Omaha

This is a directory of historic new and used automobile dealerships established before 2000 in North Omaha, east of 72nd Street and north of Dodge. I compiled it strictly for historical and educational purposes to document neighborhood commercial development, and I do not endorse, recommend, or affiliate with any past or current businesses listed.

• Able’s Auto Sales (ca. 1985–present) 6101 Blondo St. — A used car lot.
• Autocorp of Omaha (ca. 1977–present) 6120 Military Ave. — A used car lot.
• Barish Motors (1934–1945) 2403 Ames Ave. — A new car dealer selling Chrysler and Plymouth.
• Burkhard-Gerelick Motors (1947–1949) Florence Blvd. & Ames Ave. — North Omaha’s primary authorized Ford dealer before moving west.
• Burkhard-Gerelick Ford (1949–1954) 4719 N. 30th St. — A large new Ford dealer that hosted Babe Ruth during his 1948 tour for Ford.
• Dewey Chevrolet (1921–1956) 3815 N. 24th St. — Wilbur Dewey’s flagship Chevrolet franchise near 24th and Spaulding; anchored the North 24th commercial strip for 35 years.
• Dewey Chevrolet / Dewey-Smith Chevrolet (1956–1976) 4200 N. 30th St. — Replaced the 24th Street shop with a 4.5-acre modern showroom and used car facility; partnered with L.L. Smith in 1965.
• Excelsior Motor Company (1917–1921) 16th and Capitol Ave. — Founded by Wilbur Dewey selling motorcycles and early motor vehicles before transitioning exclusively to automobiles.
• Fett City Motors (ca. 1987–present) 4707 NW Radial Hwy. — A long-time used car lot.
• Fetts City Motor Center (ca. 1990s–present) 4116 Ames Ave. — A used car lot.
• Gerelick Ford (1954–ca. 1979) 4719 N. 30th St. — Phil Gerelick bought out Burkhard and operated as a new car dealership for 25 years; also kept used car lots at 30th & Sprague and 20th & Larimore.
• Hulac Chevrolet (ca. 1935–1968) 6120 Military Ave. — A new car franchise in downtown Benson founded by Frank V. Hulac selling Chevy.
• Jackson’s Motors (ca. 1995–present) 3113 N. 63rd St. — A used car lot.
• Jourdan Motors (1938–1956) N. 30th and Camden Ave. — A new car dealer selling Chrysler and Plymouth.
• Leon’s Auto Exchange (ca. 1940s) 2402 Blondo St. — Omaha’s first Black-owned auto dealer.
• L-Motors (ca. 1990s–present) 4642 Dodge St. — A used car lot.
• Mowery Auto Sales (ca. 1924–1962) 1518 Military Ave. A used car dealer that ran for at least 38 years.
• Nichols-Rice Motor Co. (1910s) Florence Blvd. & Ames Ave. — Early authorized new Ford dealer.
• Prettiest Mile Motor Company (1922–1928) 4225 Florence Blvd. — A used car dealer.
• Richman-King Motor Company (ca. 1940) 1516 N. 16th St. — A used car dealership.
• Sonny Gerber Auto Sales (ca. 1953–present) 4021 Cuming St. — A long-time used car dealer.
• Truck Korner (ca. 1948–present) 4601 N. 60th St. — A long-time used truck and utility vehicle dealer.
• U Own It Auto Sales (ca. 1977–present) 6311 Military Ave. — A used car lot.
• Wolfson Used Cars (ca. early 1950s–??) Ames Ave. & N. 24th St. — A big used car dealer.
• Wolfson Used Cars (ca. 1958–present) 1308 N. Saddle Creek Rd. — A long-time used car dealer.

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