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Harley dealership group changes its tune

Now open in historic Marathon Village in Nashville, Boswell’s Music City Harley-Davidson is the dealership group’s sixth location.

Boswell’s H-D adds new retail outlet in Nashville’s Marathon Village 

While it’s known as the “Heart of Country Music,” Nashville, Tennessee, also plays home to Boswell’s Harley-Davidson’s sixth and newest edition, Boswell’s Music City Harley-Davidson. Making a home in the historic Marathon Village of the Marathon Motor Works building, the apparel and general merchandise store  aims to embrace the downtown culture and music theme. The new store will offer exclusive Harley-Davidson apparel with Music City flair.

“Bringing Boswell’s and Harley-Davidson to Marathon is a dream come true,” Betsy Boswell, operations manager of Boswell’s, said in a press release. “Boswell’s Harley-Davidson is a staple in the Nashville market, and adding Marathon was just a natural fit.”

Four of the Boswell’s locations feature music-themed names: Boswell’s Honky Tonk Harley-Davidson, Boswell’s Music City Harley-Davidson, Boswell’s Ring of Fire Harley-Davidson and Boswell’s Country Roads Harley-Davidson

Marathon Motor Works is an old automotive manufacturing facility from the early 1900s and serves a popular stop on many Nashville sightseeing tours. Among Music City H-D’s neighbors are crowd-drawing Antique Archaeology, the Jack Daniel’s General Store, a winery and a comedy club.

The dealership hopes that the building’s growing popularity will reflect in increased customer traffic and apparel sales. Boswell said the location highlights Nashville’s motorcycle past and pairs it with the history of the original automotive factory. 

Already the response from customers has been positive. “They love it. I think people just enjoy Marathon because the building and the architecture is so beautiful,” said Boswell. “People enjoy coming to look around at all the old history. They appreciate that.”

Over the past 10 years, Boswell said that the group’s MotorClothes sales and merchandise business has continued to grow, alongside Nashville’s popularity as a destination location for businesses, bikers and tourists. With such growth and expansion in the area, 2017 served as a great time for Boswell’s to rename several of its dealerships and renovate its downtown Nashville location.

Boswell’s has a total of six locations in Tennessee, including two in Nashville, one in Madison, one in Cookeville, an airport outlet and the clothing and accessories store in Marathon Village. The downtown Nashville location, formerly Music City H-D, is now Boswell’s Honky Tonk Harley-Davidson. Country Road Harley-Davidson in Cookeville and Ring of Fire Harley-Davidson also have new names. 

Boswell said the dealership group is embracing the music theme. “The name Honky Tonk was so appropriate down there because Second Avenue and Broadway, that’s the theme down there. It’s Honky Tonk central.”

The Marathon Village store will offer exclusive Harley-Davidson apparel with Music City flair.

January was a very big month for Boswell’s. At the same time that Music City Harley-Davidson was due to open, Honky Tonk Harley-Davidson began renovations. “Our landlord was doing some remodeling, so we had to move our entire store out,” she said. “We took that opportunity to paint the walls, get new carpet and new ceiling tiles.” 

The dealership announced the reopening of Honky Tonk Harley-Davidson in mid-February and is planning to have a grand opening event in the future. 

Boswell’s Honky Tonk Harley-Davidson echoes the history of the Marathon Village location with its own small motorcycle museum equipped with vintage motorcycles and Boswell family memorabilia. “We put an old 1926 motorcycle in there, some pictures of our owner Bubba’s mom and dad, a lot of old parts and seats to fit the theme. There’s a lot of fun stuff to look at in here,” she said.

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Boswell’s has a long history with Harley-Davidson. After 67 years of selling the brand, its mentality has never changed. “We are loyal to our customers. We are a hometown Harley dealer — that’s our thing, and we ride with our customers,” she added. 

 

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