The History of Bommarito Automotive Group

Foundation and Early Success

Frank Bommarito’s automotive career began humbly in the early 1950s at a St. Louis Pontiac dealership, where he started by undercoating cars and working as a lot porter. After serving in the US Navy, he returned to the automotive world and steadily rose through the ranks to become a sales manager at one of Missouri’s largest General Motors dealerships. His big break came in 1971 when General Motors awarded him an Oldsmobile franchise in Ellisville, Missouri – the moment that marked the birth of the Bommarito Automotive Group. Under Frank’s stewardship, that single-point Oldsmobile store quickly blossomed into the state’s largest Oldsmobile dealership and even ranked among the top ten Oldsmobile dealers in the entire nation. This early success set the stage for an automotive legacy built on hard work, integrity, and an instinct for opportunity.

Strategic Expansion in the St. Louis Region

Throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, Frank Bommarito expanded his dealership portfolio with the same tenacity and foresight that defined his early career. He added new brands and locations, transforming his business from a single franchise into a multi-dealership powerhouse across the St. Louis region. In Ellisville, he introduced the Mazda brand – a venture that would go on to become the largest Mazda dealership in Missouri for many years. Up in North County, he acquired a Nissan dealership in Hazelwood and elevated it to the #1 volume Nissan store in the state. Frank’s vision wasn’t confined to one area; he strategically extended the Bommarito presence into every corner of the metro area. By establishing Bommarito Buick GMC and Bommarito INFINITI in West County (Ellisville), he ensured the Bommarito name became synonymous with automotive excellence across Missouri. Each expansion under Frank’s leadership was carefully chosen and managed with a focus on long-term success and community trust, laying a sturdy foundation for the future.

Next Generation Leadership

By the late 1990s, the Bommarito Automotive Group was a thriving family of dealerships, and Frank began preparing the next generation to take the helm. In 1998, Frank passed the torch to his son, John Bommarito, in a seamless transition of leadership. John had been immersed in the family business from a young age – parking cars on the lot at 12 and learning the “backbone” of operations in the service department as a teenager. After college, he even explored a successful side venture by launching Bommarito Cellular, which grew into a nationwide mobile phone enterprise with over 40 retail locations. Yet John’s passion was always automotive, and he returned to carry on his father’s legacy. In 1992, John boldly stepped out on his own to purchase a failing Oldsmobile-Cadillac dealership in St. Peters – using his personal savings and grit to revive it. He not only saved that store from bankruptcy but also added a Mazda franchise to it, turning a once-struggling location into a thriving dealership that began selling over 280 vehicles a month (up from just 25 per month before). This early achievement foreshadowed John’s knack for transformative growth and set the tone for his leadership of the Bommarito Automotive Group.

Rapid Growth and New Brand Integrations

Under John Bommarito’s stewardship, the early 2000s ushered in an era of ambitious expansion and diversification for the company. In February 2001, John’s determination and negotiating skill led to the acquisition of Bommarito’s fourth dealership location – a new South County platform that brought Pontiac into the Bommarito family for the first time. That same year, he broadened the offerings at the flagship Ellisville location by securing the Suzuki franchise, reflecting the group’s commitment to giving customers a wider array of choices. When General Motors announced the phase-out of Oldsmobile shortly thereafter, John moved decisively to keep the momentum. By June 2004, Bommarito Ellisville had transitioned from Oldsmobile to the Buick brand, ensuring that the storied Ellisville dealership continued to thrive with a fresh line of vehicles. The growth didn’t stop there. In September 2006, the Bommarito Group was awarded the coveted Honda and Volkswagen franchises for the Hazelwood (North County) market, marking an important expansion into new segments. The following year, in 2007, Bommarito was honored with another luxury marquee when Audi chose the Bommarito Group to represent its brand in the affluent West County area. Each of these additions – Pontiac, Suzuki, Buick, Honda, Volkswagen, and Audi – was more than just a new logo on the showroom; it was a strategic move that reinforced Bommarito’s status as a comprehensive automotive destination and strengthened its ties to the communities of St. Louis.

Modernization and Continued Expansion

Major developments continued as the decade progressed and the automotive industry underwent rapid changes. John’s vision was clear: every Bommarito dealership, whether new or acquired, should not only offer top brands but also provide a top-notch environment and service befitting those brands. This vision led to continual upgrades. In 2008, Pontiac was replaced by Chevrolet at the South County location, broadening appeal and aligning with GM’s shifting lineup. Around the same time, Ellisville briefly housed Buick, Pontiac, and GMC under one roof—until Pontiac’s discontinuation in 2010 streamlined that platform’s focus. Facility upgrades kept pace with the brand growth: two Volkswagen Marketplace showrooms opened in St. Peters and Hazelwood, showcasing modern retail environments. South County received significant updates, too, with a full Chevrolet renovation in early 2011 and a new Mazda Retail Revolution showroom launched that May. That spring also saw the addition of Ford to the Hazelwood location, further reinforcing the group’s domestic lineup. To round out this period of strategic transformation, the Cadillac facility in St. Peters underwent a full remodel, completed in May 2012. By then, the Bommarito Automotive Group had firmly established itself as Missouri’s largest dealer group and earned recognition as one of the top 50 dealership organizations nationwide.

Brand Diversity and National Recognition

The 2010s saw John Bommarito floor the throttle on growth. First came bricks-and-mortar upgrades—a fresh look for Hazelwood Ford and a down-to-the-studs rebuild of Buick-GMC West County. Next, expansion: a second Nissan store in Ballwin joined the roster in 2015 and sprinted up the local rankings, followed a year later by a hard-won Toyota franchise in Hazelwood that cemented the group’s coverage across nearly every major segment. By the close of 2016 the operation counted 20 franchises and more than a thousand team members, yet the code Frank Bommarito wrote—straight dealing, hard work, genuine care—still guided every handshake. The industry took notice: Bommarito landed among America’s top-50 dealer groups, while John collected repeat President’s Club honors from Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, INFINITI, and Volkswagen—evidence that principled leadership pays off where customers feel it most.

Racing Partnerships and Civic Engagement

John Bommarito channels the same competitive spark on a racetrack that he brings to the sales floor. Bommarito Automotive Group’s motorsports involvement began in 2015 with a one-off NASCAR Truck Series sponsorship of Jordan Anderson Racing, paving the way for a full partnership by 2017. In that same year, Bommarito became the title sponsor of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 IndyCar race at Gateway Motorsports Park (now World Wide Technology Raceway), an event whose sold-out inaugural running led to a multi-year commitment and an eighth annual edition by 2024. In recognition of Bommarito’s growing impact on the region’s sports scene, company president John Bommarito was appointed to the St. Louis Sports Commission’s board of directors in 2017. On the track, the Bommarito–Jordan Anderson partnership earned multiple top-five and top-ten finishes in the Truck Series, highlighted by back-to-back runner-up finishes at Daytona International Speedway in 2020 and 2021. Following these successes, the team was rebranded as Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport and expanded into the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022. The Xfinity program debuted with an 8th-place finish by Tyler Reddick at Circuit of The Americas and logged six top-ten finishes in its first season. Bommarito then signed Myatt Snyder as the team’s first full-time Xfinity driver in 2022 (he earned four top-ten finishes), and in 2023 the operation grew to two cars with Parker Retzlaff (No. 31) and Jeb Burton (No. 27) joining the lineup. By 2024, the team had accumulated 23 top-ten and 8 top-five finishes, achieved its first victory (Burton at Talladega Superspeedway in 2023), and notched a pole position (Retzlaff at Richmond Raceway in 2024).—proof that John Bommarito’s drive refuses to idle.

The Bommarito Legacy and Vision Moving Forward

Today, over five decades since Frank Bommarito opened his first dealership, the Bommarito Automotive Group stands as a testament to sustained vision and leadership. What Frank started over 53 years ago as a single Oldsmobile dealership has grown into Missouri’s #1 choice for car buyers statewide. The group’s reach now extends through multiple generations of customers, with an unmatched selection of brands and services that truly offers something for every driver. More than 1,000 loyal and skilled employees carry forward the family’s tradition of excellence, treating customers with the care and respect that has become a Bommarito hallmark. The company’s motto of having “a vehicle in our portfolio for every type of buyer” is not just a saying – it’s a lived mission that has guided every expansion and investment from Frank’s time to John’s. Under John Bommarito’s leadership, the Bommarito Automotive Group continues to experience unprecedented growth while staying true to the principles that Frank ingrained decades ago. Father and son have together created a legacy in the Midwestern automotive landscape – one defined by relentless hard work, community engagement, and an unwavering commitment to innovation in an ever-changing industry.