photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Lawrence Dale Willey Automotive on south Iowa Street is pictured in August 2023.

I can’t spend a lot of time on any one topic because I have to go out every 30 minutes to hug and kiss my air conditioner to make sure it knows I love it. So, let’s do some quick news and notes from around town.

• Lawrence’s Dale Willey Automotive is no longer a Buick dealership. After decades and decades of carrying that General Motors brand, Dale Willey dropped Buick at the beginning of August.

Dale Willey owner Greg Maurer told me he ultimately decided to take General Motors up on an offer it made to all Buick dealerships last fall. GM offered to buy back any Buick dealership from a dealer who wanted to go in a different direction.

Maurer said the majority of Kansas Buick dealerships decided to sell, with Dale Willey being one of the last to make the move.

The Buick buybacks nationally have gotten some media attention. Those articles largely have portrayed the buybacks as a result of dealers not wanting to make the investment to sell electric vehicles in the future. Buick has announced plans to be an all-electric car brand in the U.S. by 2030.

Maurer, though, said the electric vehicle issue wasn’t the driver behind his decision. He said the Dale Willey dealership already has made significant investments to sell electric vehicles. Dale Willey continues to be a dealership for fellow GM brands Chevrolet and GMC, which also are adding lots of electric vehicle models. Maurer said his dealership even has made the “significant investment” to have a new bank of electric transformers installed to accommodate an ultra fast, commercial charging station at the dealership.

Maurer said GM has a set of standards related to charging stations, tools, training and other factors for all its dealerships across all GM brands. He said Dale Willey has been selling electric vehicles since 2010 and is planning for a big increase in numbers soon.

“We got our first electric Hummer in the other day,” Maurer said. “We have more electrics coming this fall and a lot more coming next year.”

Instead, Maurer said his decision to drop the Buick brand was a more basic business decision. He said the Buick brand, which dates back to 1903, had largely gotten out of the sedan business, which is what it was long known for. Now, its models of SUVs and other such vehicles are similar with what Dale Willey is offering through its Chevrolet and GMC brands.

In terms of what this means to local car buyers and owners, it obviously means you won’t be able to buy a brand new Buick in Lawrence. It also could have impacts on repairs. If you are required to have work done at a Buick dealership for warranty reasons, that will mean you’ll need to travel out of town for that service. I believe the closest Buick dealerships are now in Kansas City. But some work may not require that it be done at a dealership, but rather could be done at a GM facility, which Dale Willey still is. In that case, you might want to call ahead to find out what is possible.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World File Photo

Bon Bon, 804 Pennsylvania St. in East Lawrence, is pictured in this file photo from July 30, 2018.

• The Warehouse Arts District restaurant Bon Bon has announced that it plans to reopen in October. You likely remember the bistro at 804 Pennsylvania St., as it gained a major local reputation for unique, crafted American-style dishes.

We reported back in June 2020 that it was closing with no plans for reopening, but founders Simon and Codi Bates continued to own the property, and even back in 2020 they said they weren’t ruling out a return to the space in some form.

The return, according to an announcement on Facebook, is Bon Bon, although with some new flavors. The post cited some of the classic Bon Bon food and drink as well as plenty of new surprises. Look for the menu to continue to focus on food that is not just prepared but crafted as the owners said the restaurant intends to bring together a “collective of food enthusiasts.”

photo by: Shutterstock

Bags of Dot’s Pretzels are shown in this file photo.

• Let’s talk Hershey’s, and not just because I’m now routinely making s’mores by sticking my handful of chocolate and marshmallows out the window. Instead, Hershey’s is worth noting here in Lawrence because of its salty snacks business. The chocolate maker owns the pretzel production plant in Lawrence VenturePark near 23rd Street and O’Connell Road.

There’s word that plant may be getting an employee boost due to a decision by Hershey to close an older pretzel plant in North Dakota. Earlier this week, Hershey announced that it was closing the flagship manufacturing plant for Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels in Velva, North Dakota.

But Hershey is definitely not getting rid of the Dot’s Pretzel brand, which it purchased in late 2021. Hershey seems to love the salty snack brand, as I’ve read several reports that the company finds those snacks to be more recession resistant than some of its other products.

The Bismark Tribune is reporting that Hershey closed the North Dakota plant because it simply was too small, too inefficient, and wasn’t located on a site that made expansion feasible. It told the 27 employees at the plant that they would be eligible for transfer to two other pretzel-making plants in the Hershey family: Lawrence and a plant in Robinson, Illinois, according to the Tribune.

So, the Lawrence plant may see its workforce grow some, but the bigger development is likely that Hershey sees the Lawrence facility as one of its more efficient and productive facilities. That’s the type of designation that could lead to even more work down the line.

Plus, this is a good reminder that Dot’s Pretzels are made here in Lawrence. That, of course, means I’m absolved of all guilt when I bring a bag of Dot’s to a bake sale or some other sort of event that asks for homemade items. (I can neither confirm nor deny that a certain member of my family has been living in a supply closet at the plant ever since the Hershey sign went on the building, obviously in search of the chocolate.)

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A Joe’s Kwik Mart along North Third Street in North Lawrence is shown on Aug. 24, 2023.

• Let’s finish with some gasoline news. You may have noticed a new brand of convenience stores in town. Joe’s Kwik Mart has opened in at least three locations in Lawrence: the former Circle K convenience store in North Lawrence along North Third Street near the Kansas Turnpike interchange; the former Circle K on Iowa Street, just south of the intersection with 23rd Street and behind the CVS drugstore; and the former Circle K on 23rd Street, just east of Iowa Street and east of the Yello Sub sandwich shop.

Those are the three I’ve seen anyway, but there may be more. At first, I thought that it was a mom and pop chain, but it appears that it could be the early entrance of a large new convenience store operator in the Lawrence market. The Joe’s Kwik Mart signage in Lawrence is basically identical to a Joe’s Kwik Mart chain that is based in Pennsylvania. I’m speaking with less than certainty, though, because the website for the chain doesn’t yet list any Lawrence locations, or any in Kansas, for that matter. It primarily is an East Coast chain.

So, I’m not sure what is going on. But it might be worth keeping an eye on. Joe’s Kwik Mart is owned by CrossAmerica Partners, which is a New York Stock Exchange-traded company. Perhaps this is a sign of more investment to come in the properties. The North Lawrence location, which is the nearest Lawrence gasoline station to the turnpike, had fallen into a state of at least mild disrepair, and had lost its Subway sandwich restaurant. Information on the Joe’s Kwik Mart website said the chain often partners with Dunkin’, Subway and Arby’s restaurants at its locations.