The long awaited relocation and opening of Hooman Toyota from the Traffic Circle to the new building at the northwest corner of Redondo Avenue and Willow Street has taken a turn. Hooman owners sold the Toyota dealership to Salt Lake City-based Ken Garff Automotive Group, which opened earlier this month at 3399 E. Willow St. as West Coast Toyota.

 

Hooman, which previously vacated the Traffic Circle site to make room for other businesses, maintains the long-term lease it signed with the City of Long Beach for the property that is now home to West Coast Toyota.

West Coast Toyota, part of the Ken Garff Automotive Group based in Salt Lake City, opened earlier this month at 3399 E. Willow St. in Long Beach. Pictured are General Manager Fred Angiuli, left, and Regional Vice President Larry Smith. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Larry Duncan)

 

Hooman still owns Hooman Nissan at the Signal Hill Auto Center, which is also home to Long Beach Honda, a dealership Ken Garff purchased about 18 months ago.

 

Michael Hastings, an attorney who handled the transaction between Hooman and Ken Garff, told the Business Journal that Hooman ownership made a business decision to sell the dealership in order to concentrate on expansion efforts in other areas of Southern California.

 

Larry Smith, regional vice president of Ken Garff Automotive Group, said in a prepared statement, “We’re happy to add another Toyota store to our mix of stores, and especially happy to have another store here in California, a state we’re proud to work in.” The Utah group, formed 85 years ago, has 49 dealerships in Utah, Texas, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada and California, where its store inventory includes Alhambra Nissan, Costa Mesa Nissan, Chevrolet Cadillac of La Quinta and Toyota of the Desert in Cathedral City.

 

West Coast Toyota is under the leadership of General Manager Fred Angiuli, who said in a statement, “We aim to provide customers with an unsurpassed experience every time. This is a store with management and employees looking to do the right thing. We’re going to earn and keep great customers.”

 

The dealership is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Service hours are Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, call the sales department at 562/733-5200.