Liberty Mazda

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Liberty Superstores car dealerships, owned and operated by the Patnoe family, with four generations of car dealers. It all started in 1931 when Ernest Patnoe owned and operated the Patnoe Garage, a Standard Oil station and Chevrolet dealership in Norris, South Dakota. From the start, Ernest's focus was on... building relationships with his customers using the motto, "We smile when you come, you smile when you leave. Ernest sold Patnoe's Garage in 1943 and became the Town Marshall of White River, South Dakota. Larry Patnoe, son of Ernest, moved from White River to Rapid City during the 1950s and eventually opened Larry Patnoe's Shop for Men, a men's clothing store in the Alex Johnson Hotel. Larry later sold this business in 1963 and became a partner in Frontier Ford in Rapid City. The partners of Frontier Ford sold the dealership in 1984 and Larry purchased the Auto Clinic, an American Motors dealership in Rapid City founded in 1963. Fifty years later, this business has grown to what is now Liberty Superstores. The principles Ernest established have grown with the business and are now referred to as, "Simple, Worry Free Car Buying" After a successful local banking career and having grown up around his father's car dealerships, Don Patnoe, son of Larry, joined the business fulltime in 1995, marking the 3rd generation of Patnoe family car dealers. The Patnoe family has since actively been growing their dealerships and franchises. Liberty Superstores now includes the new Chrysler, Jeep, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen franchises, offering more new vehicle models than any dealer in western South Dakota. Additionally, Liberty offers hundreds of used cars, service departments, parts departments, and a body shop. This growth would not be possible without the dedication of numerous employees who have made a lifelong career with Liberty Superstores. In 2011, Max Patnoe, Don's son, decided to join the family business full-time after graduating from the University of Colorado ...Read More