October 10, 2022 – West Bend, WI – Russ Darrow has sold two of his dealership properties on Highway 33 in West Bend, WI. Mike Darrow, president and chief financial officer of the Darrow Group, said “it’s business as usual.”
“All we did was sell the real estate for just two of the properties in West Bend,” he said. “We’re then leasing back the space from the company we sold them to. We’re basically reinvesting the equity we have in the real estate; it’s just a diversification strategy for our company.” 
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The sales were registered September 6, 2022 for the properties 2700 W. Washington Street and the Nissan dealership, 2665 W. Washington Street.
“What we did is called a sale leaseback,” said Darrow. “The biggest thing our customers should know is we’re not selling the business. The business was not sold. The Russ Darrow Group is here to stay for many years to come. All we did was sell two pieces of real estate, we’re leasing it back and simply to reinvest our equity as a diversification strategy.”
Darrow said, “The business operations remain completely unaffected or unchanged.”
He said the setup is similar to what the dealership has going for its store on the corner at 3210 W. Washington Street. That Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram of West Bend dealership is leased space by Russ Darrow.
The Darrow Group still plans to build on the lot east of the Nissan dealership. “We’re going to be building a new Chrysler, Dodge Jeep and Ram dealership,” he said.
That dealership is expected to open by the spring of 2024.
Russ Darrow dealerships employ about 140 people at their West Bend stores alone.
The Darrow family has been a longstanding part of the community; its first dealership was located on S. Main Street. “We started in 1965 and we were located where the McDonald’s and Aldi are just north of Vine Street,” said Darrow.
In November 2019 when Patti Rossa retired, she recalled the view from her office window at the S. Main Street dealership.
Click HERE for a video from Patti Rossa’s 47-year retirement gathering at
Russ Darrow Toyota
“My office was pretty close to where the drive-in window is at the McDonald’s,” said Rossa. “We were next to Schleif’s Gas Station; Weiland’s is still there and Coachman House was down the street.”
“It really shows our longevity in the community,” said Mike Darrow.
