The longest serving Harley-Davidson dealership in the Evansville, Indiana area — Bud’s Harley-Davidson — has changed hands for the first time as the Morand Family sold the store to Evan Schipper, in a deal orchestrated by Performance Brokerage Services. After moving to Evansville in 1965, Bud’s Harley-Davidson has been family-owned and operated for four generations. Most recently, the business was run by the two granddaughters of the original owner and motorcycle enthusiast, Bud, who worked at the dealership until the age of 81.
New owner Schipper takes over with a strong affinity for the area, and the brand. He launched his first Harley-Davidson dealership in Indiana in 2006 and now owns several dealerships in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky and St. Louis, Missouri. “This is actually my second Harley-Davidson dealership that I bought through George Chaconas, though this time it was with the help of his partner, Courtney Bernhard,” says Schipper. “I engaged them on a buy-side agreement where they identified opportunities that were not on the open market and thought it would be a good fit for me and my strategic growth strategy.”
“Timing is everything,” says Performance Brokerage Services Partner Bernhard. “I couldn’t have been luckier to connect with Dawn Morand when I did. Even though she was not on the market to sell, she agreed to let me do a valuation and walk her through what we are seeing in the industry. After speaking with her family, she decided to let me bring a strategic buyer, Evan Schipper in. With the professionalism of both buyer and seller, we were able to negotiate a deal that worked for both sides. All parties worked together and were an absolute pleasure during the entire process.”
“We would like to thank Courtney Bernhard and George Chaconas of Performance Brokerage Services for making the sale of our dealership a remarkably smooth transaction,” said Dawn Morand, Owner of Bud’s Harley-Davidson. “After 63 years as a family-owned business, it was an emotional journey, and they were instrumental in finding the right buyer who shares in our family values and will continue the legacy Bud Burnett and our family have built in the community. Now we’re off to start the next chapter with more business adventures and a lot more riding!”
“Having sold Lucky Penny Harley-Davidson in Fort Wayne to Evan Schipper, it was a great pleasure to represent Evan and his team on the acquisition of Bud’s Harley-Davidson with the assistance of my partner, Courtney Bernhard,” said George Chaconas, Senior Partner and Head of the National Harley-Davidson and Powersports Division at Performance Brokerage Services. “I am very proud of the way she facilitated this transaction. I would like to congratulate the Bud’s family on their very well-deserved retirement after decades of ownership.”
The Morand Family got their start in the motorcycle industry in 1957, when Bud Burnett founded Bud's Harley-Davidson in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Bud later moved his business to Evansville, where it remains the longest serving Harley-Davidson dealership in the area. The dealership will remain at its current location of 4700 East Morgan Avenue in Evansville but has been renamed Evansville Harley-Davidson. In addition, all current staff members will remain with the business.