Whitten Brothers 100th Anniversary

Whitten Brothers: Celebrating 100 Years

How do we begin? 100 years! What started as a small family operation servicing automobiles for families in the Richmond area has since expanded to a number of dealerships, proudly offering a variety of the top car brands in the country. The growth we’ve seen over the last 100 years is wonderful, but we haven’t lost sight of who is most important among all the factors; our customers. With many changes in the automotive industry over the last century, there are a few things that have never wavered: our hard-working team, our extraordinary customers in our ever-growing community and our dedication to providing our customers with a great car-buying experience.

We couldn’t ask for better customers or a better community, and with our 100th birthday this month, we wanted to acknowledge that this huge milestone could not have been reached without all of you. We are honored and grateful to our community for continually supporting Whitten Brothers over the past one hundred years. It’s a family legacy that we are incredibly proud to continue in thanks to our community.

Whitten Brothers Through The Years

It all started on March 8, 1920, when Whitten Brothers opened their first shop. We were one of the first businesses in Virginia to provide affordable access to personal automobiles for the then-modern American family. Harrison Whitten Sr. was known as the guy to go to when you were ready to purchase your first family car–everyone knew he would take care of you.

In the 1960s, after 40 years of serving the community in our original location, we decided to expand by opening our second location on Midlothian Turnpike and that location is still open today, known now as Whitten Mazda.

Fast forward a bit, in the 1990s, we moved to our current location, also on Midlothian Turnpike. In the process of that move, we acquired the Mazda brand which operates in our first Midlothian Turnpike location mentioned above.

The most recent expansion happened in 2008 with the addition of our dealership in Ashland. Whitten Brothers now operates a collision center and three dealerships; Whitten Richmond, Whitten Ashland, and Whitten Mazda. The dealerships offer new Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Mazda vehicles and a variety of pre-owned automobiles. With four generations in the auto industry under our belt, Whitten Brothers Automotive has become a part of the fabric of the Richmond community.

The Whitten Brothers consist of the four Whittens in succession: Harrison Whitten Sr., Jimmy Whitten, Bobby Whitten, and Harrison Whitten who operates the business with his business partner Zack Cochran, in respective order from first to the fourth generation. The company gained more insight, stayed ahead of the game and refreshed its structure every time a new Whitten generation was handed off the ownership of the Whitten Brothers. This, if not anything else, has helped them stay more relevant and survive through hard economic times through the 100 years the Whitten Brothers have been in business. We’re thankful to the greater Richmond community for these great years as we’ve grown and shifted, read more about the history of Whitten Brothers throughout the years.

As we enter this next decade, and as there are continuing concerns and challenges around what the future of car ownership looks like, everyone at Whitten Brothers is dedicated to you and helping you decide on the best vehicle for your needs, while providing affordable, high-quality vehicle options.

Whitten Brothers Today

In order to provide a high level of customer care at each location, Harrison Whitten focuses on enhancing the sales sector while Zack Cochran specializes in the quality service, parts, and collision repair sectors of the business. Although Zack and Harrison have their own specialties, both make themselves available at any given time for our customers.

How We Support Our Community
As we say thank you, know that we remain as dedicated as ever to providing support for our community organizations. Throughout our history, Whitten Brothers has supported a number of charities and local organizations around our community. From advocacy groups to athletic organizations, we are proud to support organizations that improve and enrich our community members’ lives. Here are a few organizations we’ve partnered with: Connor’s Heroes, The James River Association, The Ronald McDonald House, Ducks Unlimited, The Ashland Little League, Gordon Elementary Athletic Association, The Chesterfield County PTA, and more.

We desire to give back to the community as much as it has given us over our 100 years of servitude. Our donations, sponsorships, and support to organizations throughout central Virginia  are a token of gratitude to be part of this community.

Whether our customers are from Richmond, Ashland, Midlothian or one of the many other communities that make up central Virginia; their satisfaction with our products and customer service are our priority. All of us here at Whitten Brothers are looking forward to 100 more years of serving the Greater Richmond area. Contact us today to learn more and buy your next vehicle locally with us.