The Burd Ford car dealership is closing and will officially be out of business by the end of the month, manager Jon Parson told IBJ Thursday afternoon.
Parson said he had “no idea” why the family auto dealership is closing. Owner and President Christine Burd was unavailable for comment.
Burd took over the business in late 2009 following the suicide of her 43-year-old husband, Richard Burd.
They bought the dealership in 2000 and built a new facility in 2006 at 10320 Pendleton Pike.
The couple were well-known for their long-running television commercials in which Rich would say, “Haven’t you heard?” and Chris would finish with, “Burd’s the word.”
In July 2010, Christine Burd discussed the experience of taking over the dealership in IBJ's "Leading Questions" feature. In the video below, she outlines the steps she took to preserve the dealership and get it back to profitability, including cost-cutting measures that saved the business an average of $109,000 per month. In the video at bottom, she details the bittersweet feeling of piloting the dealership back to firmer ground when its troubles may not have been as dire as her husband believed.
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