It is pretty common for one driving around on the West side of Cincinnati to drive past many cars with Kelsey Chevrolet licenses plates or cars that have been bought from the dealership. The dealership is located in Greendale, Indiana and has experienced tremendous success ever since they opened in 2015.

The dealership buys in to values that Americans have been striving to have for years with strong family ties and goals of living the American dream. Kelsey Chevrolet’s slogan is “From our family to yours” to show how much family means to each member of the Kelsey Chevy team.

Wanting to learn more about the dealership’s upbringings and successes, I talked to sophomore Gunnar Wall, grandson of owner Mike Kelsey, about the dealership.

“In January 2015, everyone had to agree to leave McCluskey even though they weren’t sure how things would work out. They didn’t know if they would be successful, but they took an all or nothing shot. They knew it wouldn’t take off right away and they wouldn’t make as much money and sell as much as they did at McCluskey at first but they stayed persistent…Rome wasn’t built in a day,” said Gunnar. Gunnar also told me that owning a car dealership has been a lifelong dream of his Grandfather.

Tim Tieman, senior and lot technician at Kelsey also told me about the dealership and what he does to help, “I wash cars, move them around the lot, gas the cars up, do the trash, and also take cars to customers’ houses.”

Along with Tim, a few other kids work at the dealership. He said, “I work with two other guys and some Elder kids. The Elder kids are Ruxin Murphy, Sean Collins, and James “Flanders” Mulligan.  It is a great time working with Elder kids because it’s nice to work with people you’ve known already for a while. The chemistry is already in stock.”

The west side has also been very loyal to the Kelsey family, “I think the west side is loyal to Kelsey Chevrolet because Kelsey has so many advertisements on the west side and in the city of Cincinnati as a whole. In addition, Kelsey has a plethora of workers down here who live on the west side and support Elder and other west side schools. The people here are so friendly and I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to work here week after week,” said Tieman. Gunnar also added, “I don’t know if it is the deep ties to Elder, but Elder definitely plays a role. Being an Elder family, the Kelsey’s know never to settle. You can always do more, you can always be better. My grandpa started in the car business as a lot boy when he was a teenager now look where he is. He never gave up. Altiora. It took him fifty years but he never doubted himself for a second and now he’s on top.”

As Kelsey Chevrolet continues showing support for Elder and the west side of Cincinnati I ask you to keep them in mind when it is time to purchase your next car. They’re a bunch of great guys mostly Elder alumni who can provide some great deals and hospitality as they make the process of purchasing a car much more enjoyable and simplistic.