The realm of business is nothing new for Washington resident Nick Fritz. But running an auto dealership is quite a different story.

Fritz owns three locations of the franchise Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes and Fries — one in Washington, Belhaven and Greenville.

But now he’s bringing his business expertise to a new auto dealership, Marsh Motors, nestled among the cluster of auto dealers along U.S. Highway 264.

Fritz said he dropped out of college to join the Hwy 55 (formerly named Andy’s) franchise because the business has a good program for employees to move up in the ranks.

Within a couple of years, Fritz said he already owned his first Hwy 55 restaurant; over a period of years, he accrued a total of 12 restaurants, moving all over the state for his work.

He said his experiences in the restaurant business taught him to be a caring employer who looks out for his employees.

“The culture of the restaurant has always been, you know, you might have a $6,000 refrigerator or a $6,000 grill or $50,000 worth of equipment, but the most important (aspect) of your business is people,” Fritz said.

Entry-level employees started expressing concerns to him about finding decent cars for fair prices, and Fritz said he wanted to help them out. He got the idea to start attending used car auctions to look for good vehicles, but to actually buy them, he would need to have his own dealership.

That got his wheels turning.

With support from his wife, Shari, and his five children, he decided to give it a try and go through the steps of becoming an auto dealer, steps that included classes with the N.C. DMV, purchasing a bond and obtaining a dealer’s license, he said.

Fritz said it was no easy task for a newcomer like himself, and he has been open about not only his lack of experience with automobiles but also his willingness to learn the trade.

“For a restaurant guy or for a regular person, it’s sort of like grasping in the dark,” he said. “This is a different kind of business altogether.”

Fritz has learned a lot over the past few months — how to determine fair pricing on cars, what goes on under the hood of a vehicle, and more simply, how to run a dealership. He said he still has plenty to learn.

But fast-forward to the present, and Fritz now has his own spot along U.S. Highway 264 West as of about a month ago. He decided on the name, Marsh Motors, created as an acronym for his children’s names (Myla, Ava, Rose, Skyler, Haydn).

Fritz said business has been pretty good so far, and he’s already been able to help out a couple of his employees, the reason for the business to begin with, along with other customers in general.

“This business, I mean, it took quite a bit of time in September trying to get it started,” he said. “Everyone was super nice and helpful. … I’ve been in other towns for opening restaurants, and that’s not always the case.”

Now he splits his time between his three restaurants, Marsh Motors and his family.

It doesn’t leave much time for rest, but in the end, it’s all worth it, he said.

Quoting a line from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Fritz said with a laugh, “If you want to get ahead in life, you’ve got to sleep faster.”

 

Marsh Motors is located at 3978 U.S. Highway 264 West in Washington. For more information, call 252-975-1000 or visit www.marshmotorsnc.com.