Grass Roots BMW Motorcycles

Grass Roots BMW

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Grass Roots BMW Motorcycles started literally at "grass roots" as a lawn mower shop in Carbondale, Illinois. In the late 1970's, David Bork, who rode a BMW motorcycle at the time, joined the shop and it soon became a powersports shop under Dave's influence. On June 2, 1982, the owner applied for a BMW dealer license and on April 6, 1983, Grass Roots BMW received a BMW dealership license, - they now sold chainsaws, lawn mowers and BMW motorcycles.

By 1993, the beemers had taken over the business, and the company, with new partners (David Zimmer. Dave Hutson, Jeff Hutson and Chris Hutson) moved the whole operation across the river to Cape Girardeau, Missouri to the historical district on South Spanish Street.

In February, 1999, John Simmons began working at the shop as a part-time mechanic. Soon John was knee-deep in the business and in early 2003 purchased the majority ownership from David Zimmer, Jeff Hutson and Chris Hutson. David Bork continued with the dealership, commuting every day from Carbondale, to provide excellent customer service. David Hutson stayed on as a partner to John.

In March of 2006, Herb Anderson, who had been a customer of the shop for some time, and Andy Adams, a fellow rider, came on board by purchasing John's share of the business with Herb now becoming principal owner and general manager. After two years, Andy Adams sold his portion back to Herb, and Herb now owns the majority of the business.

In March 2007, Grass Roots BMW expanded its operations by taking over the rest of the building and renovating the whole place. Major improvements included painting the outside of the building, tripling the showroom space, and adding four new service bays. Also, one of the old service bays was converted into a customer lounge and the former parts area was changed into a dressing room and storage closet. Three new offices and a new parts counter were constructed, adding some much needed space.

Now over 16 years in its current location, the business still retains an old-fashioned flavor. Herb works as Dealer Principal. His wife, Reno, managed marketing, F&I, the office, and maintained the website for five years, until 2011, and is now semi-retired, but still giving a hand for special events. Dave Bork worked as Service Manager for many years while providing a wealth of knowledge on older BMW motorcycles, but has now given the management of the Service Dept over to Brian Thompson. John Simmons, as Master Technician, consults to Grass Roots by helping to train the new technicians. Mike Gurnow is one of our able-bodied mechanics. Pat Taylor loves to sell motorcycles. Brian Thompson was in Sales, Apparel, and Service Writer for some time before taking over Management of the Service Department, as Operations Manager. (All riders, by the way.) Patty Reid is our in-house bookkeeper and finance manager. Cleo is our official greeter and guard dog when she is not sleeping in Reno's lap. In early 2011, Jamie Wills, with 15 years in the motorcycle industry, came on as General Manager and is bringing his expertise to the business. Josh is the newest member of the team and is our Parts and Shipping leader.

Not glitzy, Grass Roots is just solid service with friendly sales. Growing to meet the needs of the BMW riding community, Grass Roots BMW continues to provide bikes, service, parts, accessories, and apparel with integrity, honesty and a passion for riding the BMW motorcycle.

Grass Roots BMW Motorcycles
Sales and Service of BMW Motorcycles
28 South Spanish Street | Cape Girardeau | Missouri 63703
1-800-888-1BMW (1269) or 573-334-7223

Tuesday to Friday 9 am to 5:30 pm
Saturday 9 am to 4 pm
Closed Sunday and Monday