DALTON, Ga. — A wet and cloudy morning didn’t dampen the mood at Mountain View Nissan of Dalton during the business’ grand opening ceremony on Thursday. 

“This is a day this family and this staff has been waiting for for a long time,” said General Manager Thomas Williams, who presided over the event and introduced several speakers. 

Williams said the dealership, at 1706 E. Walnut Ave., employs about 50. The business actually started selling cars from a triple-wide trailer at that location in July of 2016, but the main facility wasn’t ready to be moved into until July of this year.

Don Thomas, dealer/managing partner, explained that the building and lot had been vacant for more than 10 years, and they originally thought the best way to use the location was to bulldoze everything and start over. However, the folks at Dillard Construction convinced them to remodel the site. 

“As you can see, the facility turned out to be absolutely beautiful,” Thomas said. 

Williams credited the city of Dalton and Whitfield County for making the process of rebuilding and opening a new business far easier than in some other places. Dalton Mayor Dennis Mock, in turn, noted that he has noticed an uptick in auto tax revenue since Mountain View Nissan started selling vehicles at that location.

Mock also said it was great to see a business clean up and occupy such a prominent location on Walnut Avenue, a sentiment that Beth Morrison, vice president of member services for the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce, agreed with.

“They really took an eyesore here and made it beautiful, and that sort of improvement is great for Dalton,” said Morrison, who added that the management of the dealership has strived to hire local people and become heavily involved in the community.

Guests of the grand opening ceremony were treated to a catered lunch and tours of the showroom and service center.  

The ownership group also owns and operates Mountain View Nissan in Chattanooga, as well as Mountain View Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Ringgold.