H-D dealership owner adds second location
George C. Chaconas of Performance Brokerage Services announced the sale of Waterkotte Harley-Davidson in Mount Vernon, Illinois, from the Waterkotte family to Rodney Cabaness. Cabaness owns and operates Black Diamond Harley-Davidson in Marion, Illinois, only 40 miles away from Waterkotte Harley-Davidson.
Waterkotte H-D was once Dale’s Harley-Davidson. Gary Surdyke acquired Dale’s H-D from Dale Walksler in 2000. For nearly 10 years, the dealership generated nearly $20 million in sales annually. However, in 2008 the store experienced a decline with the failing economy. Gary Surdyke and wife Linda Surdyke have 10 children, all of whom grew up in the Harley-Davidson business. As an attempt to pass the business onto their children, Surdyke offered the dealership to his daughter Rebecca and her husband Matt Waterkotte, who changed the name to Waterkotte Harley-Davidson in 2014.
“After receiving many announcements of Harley-Davidson dealerships that George Chaconas and Performance Brokerage Services had sold over the years, I reached out to him to help my daughter and son-in-law sell Waterkotte Harley-Davidson,” Gary Surdyke said. “It was a very complicated and difficult transaction, and I want to thank George for his perseverance, professionalism and commitment to seeing the deal through to closing.”
Cabaness, meanwhile, had acquired Campbell’s Harley-Davidson in 2007 from Linda Campbell and later renamed it Black Diamond Harley-Davidson.
“This deal would not have happened without the involvement of George Chaconas from Performance Brokerage Services. Having worked with George in the past, he reached out to me about an opportunity in my market,” Cabaness said. “George is a good guy to know in our industry. He was very professional and persistent and helped immensely in us buying Waterkotte Harley-Davidson.”
Waterkotte Harley-Davidson will operate under its new name Roadhouse Harley-Davidson and will remain at its current location at 205 North 44th St. in Mount Vernon, Illinois.
