Expanding Knudtsen Chevrolet has long been a goal of the Knudtsen family.

“It’s something we’ve always wanted to do, to grow the organization and to serve more people,” President Eve Knudtsen said Wednesday.

As Knudtsen Chevrolet has evolved into Knudtsen Automotive Group, those efforts have come to fruition.

A celebration will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday as the Knudtsen Auto Group marks the grand opening of Knudtsen Foothills Mazda, Knudtsen Foothills Lincoln and Knudtsen-Abra Auto Body at 202 E. North Foothills Drive, Spokane.

“It helps us make not only North Idaho but Spokane the best place on Earth to live, work and raise a family, because that’s what we do," Knudtsen said.

This is the second location outside North Idaho that now bears the Knudtsen moniker and is the organization's third Abra Body Repair site.

“We have Abra here in Post Falls as part of Knudtsen Chevrolet. We have Abra in the Spokane Valley, and now we have Abra Foothills," Knudtsen said.

She said one employee from the Post Falls dealership moved to the Foothills site. All employees have learned how to do business as Knudtsen historically has done it for more than 85 years.

"All the people are in the right places," Knudtsen said. "They’re trained up and know how to do their jobs, and they’re going to deliver the greatest retail experience that you have ever had buying a car."

This venture is a way to bring together the Spokane and North Idaho communities. Knudtsen's daughter and company vice president, Lauren Benedict, said it's always been the Inland Northwest the company has worked to serve, not just North Idaho.

"Now having a physical presence over in Spokane, we're going to be able to do more with that,” Benedict said.

Several elected officials and company leaders from Lincoln and Mazda have been invited to the grand opening celebration, which will include food, refreshments, social time and ribbon cutting ceremonies. Officials from the Greater Spokane Chamber of Commerce and the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce will be in attendance as well.

It was announced earlier this year that Knudtsen Chevrolet had acquired Foothills Lincoln Mazda, first established in 1981 by Ray Kish and later co-owned with Rick Rielly.

The Knudtsen Family has served families and communities of eastern Washington and North Idaho since 1939.

    Benedict
  

    A celebration will be held from 5-7 p.m. Thursday as the Knudtsen Auto Group marks the grand opening of Knudtsen Foothills Mazda, Knudtsen Foothills Lincoln and Knudtsen-Abra Auto Body at 202 E. North Foothills Drive, Spokane.