California dealership sold after 30 years of same ownership

Twin Rivers Polaris of Yuba City, California, has been sold by the original owners Bill and Patty Fortna to Ben Milner of Work and Play Powersports. After 30 years in business, the couple retired on June 12, after officially selling.

Milner approached the couple four years ago with an interest in buying the business and the Fortna’s believe that their dealership is in good hands. “We couldn’t have asked for a better buyer,” Patty Fortna says.

Milner recently purchased a 40,000-square-foot building to house Twin Rivers Polaris in the coming months, according to Bill Fortna. “I’m excited to bring in a brand-new face to the dealership,” Milner says. “The crew here is a huge part of this success.”

Bill and Patty Fortna will remain familiar faces at Twin Rivers Polaris, and are looking forward to riding the same product they have been selling for 30 years.

Bill Fortna had just left his job as an auto mechanic when the couple set out to start their own business in 1994. Formerly a B&P gas station, the building that would become Twin Rivers Polaris required extensive upkeep with the help of the couple’s family. “It was a family affair,” Patty Fortna says.

In its early days, the building could only fit one model unit on the floor. As the dealership got off the ground, the couple also ran a standard automotive shop on the premises. “We just worked and worked really hard, turning the years over,” Bill Fortna says. “Pretty soon, Polaris had grown so much that we actually had to shut down the automotive shop.”

As the dealership continued to grow, it also changed through its inventory. The Fortna’s primarily sold snowmobiles and watercraft before moving on to motorcycles. They were able to obtain off-road vehicles soon after, which has become their primary inventory to this day.