If you are a native of Central Minnesota, you have probably heard of Tenvoorde Ford. But how much do you really know about the oldest family-owned Ford dealership to this day? Tenvoorde Ford is currently working on its fifth generation of ownership. It’s amazing how a man who loved bicycle racing had a dream that turned into a landmark in automotive history.
In The Beginning
Let’s start the story off with John Tenvoorde, one of the founders of St. Cloud, Minnesota. His son, Steve Tenvoorde, a bicycle enthusiast, turned his passion for wheels into the nation’s second Ford dealership in 1903. Ford Motor Co. was incorporated only 3 short months later, meaning Tenvoorde Ford is older than Ford Motor Co., but they still shared their 100th year anniversary together in 2003. Automobile business for Tenvoorde didn’t start off very well. In their first year, only 1 car was sold. That didn’t slow down Steve; 7 years later he opened his first sales floor in downtown St. Cloud. Inside a two-story brick building was a five-car showroom and a service department.
Moving Through the Generations
Steve’s three sons took over the ownership in 1943 when their father passed away. At the same time, the automobile industry transformed into a military manufacturer, meaning car dealerships didn’t have any new cars to sell. All but one of Tenvoorde’s salesmen were let go, and Tenvoorde Ford turned their focus onto servicing their customer’s vehicles. With this new flow of income, the business was growing again. Steve’s son Cy actually made more profit from servicing vehicles than he did from selling cars.
In 1951, a larger facility was built on a ¾ acre lot in downtown St. Cloud. “My dad paid cash for the building because he didn’t believe in credit,” says Cy’s son, Jack in a 1997 article for Automotive News. The family-owned business almost lost the title in 1966 when Cy’s siblings wanted to sell their stock in the company. Cy decided to buy out his sister and brother and was able to pass the company down to his children. On St. Patrick’s Day in 1978, the new Tenvoorde Ford dealership opened on 10-acre lot Cy himself plowed when he was a boy. This time, however, the expansion was not paid with cash. Since that day, the 45,000 square foot dealership has been remodeled 4 times to keep up with changing times. Up until 1992, Cy was always a part of the day-to-day life of Tenvoorde Ford.
In 1995, Cy Tenvoorde passed away two days shy of his 90th birthday. Jack Tenvoorde still remembers the day his dad got to drive the 4 millionth Minnesota-built Ford out of the Twin Cities plant in 1976. “Dad drove a bronze LTD off the assembly line in honor of the occasion,” Jack Tenvoorde told Automotive News.
The Now Generation
Tenvoorde Ford remains on track for keeping the business in the family. Three of Jack’s four children and one grandson are involved in the family business. Deb took the customer service department from last place to third in her first year on the job, winning Tenvoorde Ford the American Customer Excellence Award, she is now the Customer Relations Manager. Brian is the Assistant Service Manager; his duties include dispatching all the service work to the technicians and keeping the workflow moving in a timely manner. Eric, Deb’s son and the 5th generation is the Sales Manager at 1st Choice Auto, a pre-owned car lot owned by Tenvoorde for vehicles $10,000 and under. Jack's son Mike took over ownership beginning in 2009.
