Ben Breece Harley-Davidson began as a Harley-Davidson franchise dealership in May, 1972 in town Ottawa, Ohio. Bernard (Ben) J. Breece and Marguerite (Midge) E. Breece signed on as a dealer and incorporated that business with their already established Flower Shop and Lawn & Garden business. As their Harley-Davidson dealership grew and their Lawn & Garden shop dissolved, they maintained their Flower Shop and built a new larger building to facilitate their Harley-Davidson business in 1998 and added a motorcycle museum. Ben and Midge, along with their son Bernard (Bernie) A. Breece operated the business up and until Ben passed away in 2001. Bernie and his wife, Julie, ran the business a number of years along with their sons, Bradley and Brian.
Harley-Davidson continued to be a very successful business and in 2005 Midge decided to close her Flower Shop and expand the clothing and general merchandise side of the Harley-Davidson business. The original building remained the sales, parts, and service end of the business, and the museum continued to grow in an additional building.
Ottawa incurred a devastating flood in 2007. The Breeces’ real estate was completely under water. With the help of many wonderful customers, we were able to cleanup from the flood. The many repairs and restorations were done to our facility and museum. After a couple high water incidents the following couple years without any flood, Bernie, Bradley, and Brian, felt it was necessary to relocate to higher ground and incorporate their business under one roof.
In October 2012 Ben Breece Harley-Davidson opened at their new location three miles outside town at 6388 St. Rt. 224, Ottawa, OH. Their new location could facilitate their business and museum in one building. The state of the art building has and is serving them well.
In December 2019, they signed on with Vanderhall Motorworks Inc. to sell their three wheel autocycle in addition to their Harley-Davidson line. Although this venture started slow due to the onset of Covid in early 2020 and also the devastating loss of Midge that year, this addition to their business has continued to grow and compliments the Harley-Davidson franchise.
With over 50 years of honest business and service to our customers, we look forward to many more. Thank you for all your support. We truly enjoy and appreciate each and everyone of you.
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