Car Mecca: A Destination Dealership and Social Club Arrives in Franklin
By Dominique Paul
As someone who resents having to do anything for my car (from putting gas in it, to washing it, to having it serviced), I can admit I wasn’t too excited about heading over to interview the founding members of One Eleven Motorcars. It’s possible that I have PTSD from childhood days spent languishing in the isles of Sears’ automotive center while my Dad looked for parts.
But, when I arrived at the 75,000 square foot facility located just off Columbia Pike in Franklin, I was not just surprised but actually excited by what awaited me. Poised dead center amongst a sea of classic cars sat four luxury vehicles including a Lambo and a Porsche. In front of those colorful cars stood four confident gentlemen: Jeremy Scates, Mitch McConnell, Chad Bray and Chris Dunham. The new cars parked in the middle of the classic car showroom at Alexander Automotive was meant to signal a changing of the guard.
Since 1969, Barry Alexander (brother of NASCAR driver Mike Alexander who started his career at Fairgrounds Raceway in Nashville) joined his Dad to operate Alexander Automotive, which sold, stored, and serviced classic and pre-owned vehicles. But in August 2024, One Eleven Motorcars, aptly named as it’s address is 111 Alpha Drive, will take over the space and offer up something uniquely different to car enthusiasts in our area.
“First and foremost, we’re not just a car dealership. One Eleven Motorcars is a destination,” says Jeremy Scates, whose phone rings and pings throughout our conversation, yet somehow he never misses a beat. “Now, we will do everything that a car dealership does. But the purpose of One Eleven is to connect with not only the local clientele, but also the car culture that is thriving in middle Tennessee.”
After more than two decades as a luxury car expert in our area, Jeremy listened to what his customers were desiring. He saw a need for a one-stop shop; a place where people can not only buy, sell and service their car, but also a place where they can connect with like-minded individuals. With One Eleven Motorcars, Scates and his partners have created a sort of Mecca for car enthusiasts, and really anyone who owns or leases a car (or wants to).
The facility, which opens later this summer, will serve as a sales and automotive service center for new and used vehicles, with five-star service by highly-skilled technicians brought in from all over the country. It will also offer curated utopian storage for classic and luxury vehicles, as well as outdoor storage for Airstreams and sprinters. There will be an auto spa offering detailing services and everything from window-tinting, wraps and PPF to paint correction and leather restoration.
“I want your entire garage. I want your Honda. I want your Toyota 4-Runner. I want your exotics. I will take care of your oil service, your tires, your brakes, your paint work. If you need a bumper painted or if your wheels need repaired because your wife curbs three wheels -not being gender specific but that’s typically how that happens,” says Jeremy. “I will take the second most expensive, time consuming and stressful thing out of your life to where you know you can call me for everything.”
In addition to the soup to nuts car care and service options, One Eleven will also have a nineteen foot turntable automotive photobooth where you can bring your car in to be professionally photographed. If that wasn’t enough, Jeremy says One Eleven will also source used vehicles for those in the used car market, as well as facilitate shipping vehicles in and out of state.
Jeremy’s business partner, Mitch McConnell, likens the services One Eleven will provide to cutting out all the subcontractors you’d normally have to engage with when dealing with your car. “If you had to go to five different people, it can get a little bit frustrating, right?” says Mitch. “One Eleven will be a one-stop shop for all your automotive needs, including financing. We’ll do it all. You’ll no longer have to go to five people to accomplish one goal.”
In addition, One Eleven will also offer a membership-based social club where members can enjoy two fully-stocked bars with several large screen TV’s, a VIP lounge, locker rooms, race simulators, cigar lounge and much more. Members can use the facilities while they wait for their cars to be finished, or just come and hang out with other car enthusiasts. “There will be three membership tiers,” explains Jeremy. “There will be a social membership, an executive membership and a collector membership. Each with their own perks and benefits.”
There will also be special monthly events at the facility, such as Jeremy’s famous Cars and Caffeine gathering, black-tie events, charity fundraisers, Super Bowl parties and live music on Friday nights.
Located on a six-acre site just south of downtown Franklin, the owners knew that they wanted to open this ambitious offering to the Williamson County community pretty early on in their process. “There are plenty of highline new and used car service and sales facilities around the nation, and our vision was to do something special,” says Mitch McConnell, who comes from a long line of car dealership owners in the Alabama area. “And my perception when I met Jeremy was instead of doing this in Dallas or Palm Beach, let’s do it in Franklin. Franklin in very special. I have a lot of respect for the area.”
“I have been in this community selling cars, fixing cars and helping people since 2001,” adds Jeremy. “This vision is not achievable if you bring in somebody from LA or even Alabama. No one could come into Nashville and do what we're about to do if they didn't have the ability to send one message and 40,000 people, all car people in Nashville, will see it within about 24 hours, right? If we don't have that connection, none of this matters because we can't pull it off fast enough. The runway, the burn rate it takes to get to the end where this is actually a viable business model is too far away.”
Scates also brought in longtime colleague Chris Dunham, who was the former General Manager of Lamborghini Nashville, to run One Eleven. “With Chris on the team, and the other guys we are curating, I’m getting the best of the best,” he adds. “All my guys not only have massive experience, they know how to listen before they talk. They’re guys with high-level relationship skills.”
“If it sounds ambitious what we are doing, it’s because it is,” adds Mitch. “There are a lot of these storage facility-type places in Miami, Palm Beach, Los Angeles, Dallas. But nobody has it all. But I think more than us beating our chest that we're going to be the best, I think what we're saying is we think we are going to have the best answer to what we've heard nationwide is a need.”
So if you’ve been yearning for a one-stop shop to care for your vehicles, or a place to connect with other like-minded car lovers or, like me, you are just wanting an escape from the doldrums of the typical dealership waiting rooms, One Eleven sounds like the answer you’ve been waiting for.
“Connection to community, and actually giving the customer unparalleled five-star customer service is what’s most important,” emphasizes Mitch. “I think if we do that, all the other amenities, the bars, the club, the private events, all of that stuff becomes a by-product and a value add.”
