Jun. 15—LAKE CITY, Minn. — After 51 years as Tom Heffernan Ford, there’s a new name over Lake City’s car dealership — Mosaic Auto Group.

Mosaic Auto Group, which also owns Mosaic Chrysler and Mosaic Chevrolet in Zumbrota, purchased the dealership at 310 North Lakeshore Dr. in Lake City from auto-selling legend Tom Heffernan earlier this month.

In 2023, the dealership celebrated its 50th anniversary and marked Heffernan’s personal career milestone of selling cars for 72 years.

Mosaic Group General Manager Paul Croshaw said taking the wheel of the longtime Lake City dealership was a good fit for Mosaic’s strategy for the region.

“We have a vision to be able to serve all of southeast and southwest Minnesota. We recognize that some of these dealerships in Lake City and other places have been serving the community for 50 plus years, but there has been a limit to what they’ve been able to do from a support standpoint,” said Croshaw. “They can only get so many cars and they only have so many people. We’re utilizing years and years worth of automotive experience and background to bring these stores into the new age of customer service and car buying, while continuing to support the communities, like Lake City, in the process.”

Mosaic retained the Lake City dealership’s staff of 18, which adds to the more 85 people that the auto group employs in Zumbrota.

After referencing the recent closure of longtime dealership Milo Peterson Ford Co. in Kenyon, Croshaw said that Mosaic believes it is important to invest in communities like Lake City and to keep the local dealerships active.

“When we see these opportunities to partner or buy into a store to keep them going, we feel like it’s a great way to just take care of everybody and make sure that those people still have jobs, and that we can support that community,” he said.

In addition to the full line of new Ford models, including the EV cars, the Lake City dealership will have an inventory of about 55 to 60 pre-owned vehicles. Bringing the dealership under the Mosaic brand means that Lake City area car buyers now also have access to the used cars and trucks at the Zumbrota dealerships.

Mosaic’s history dates back to when Bismarck, N.D.-based Eide Automotive acquired the Chrysler dealership from Steve Johnson. Moneer Nyazi, an immigrant from Afghanistan who had worked his way up at Eide, was a partial owner. Nyazi later purchased the dealership and launched the Mosaic brand.

In early 2024, Nyazi purchased its next-door neighbor Chevrolet dealership from the Flagship group, which is based in Baldwin, Wis. Mosaic also operates a Fast Lane oil change shop, between the two Zumbrota dealerships.