Dew Cadillac gets new owner

Dimmitt Cadillac in Clearwater buys the dealership, called one of the oldest in the country by a former owner.

By SHARON BOND

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 7, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Dew Cadillac, among the oldest businesses and best known names in the city, has a new owner: Dimmitt Cadillac in Clearwater.

Owner Richard Dimmitt said he bought the downtown dealership in early May but would not disclose the sales price. He bought the dealership from Page Harris III, a Dew family member, and Steve McFarlin, who was the general manager at Dew.

"It's got such a rich heritage," Dimmitt said of Dew, which was a family-owned business for 85 years. "We're going to keep it right there."

He said the business also will keep the Dew name.

Dimmitt said he is planning a major renovation to return the dealership at 224 Third St. S to its 1920s boom-era look. The face lift will take about 18 months and won't begin for six to eight months.

Dimmitt is the third generation of his family owning car dealerships in Clearwater. His grandfather, Larry Dimmitt, opened the first one in 1924.

Roy L. Dew founded the dealership; it began as St. Petersburg Garage Inc. in 1910, selling Cadillac, Essex and Hudson autos, according to St. Petersburg Times files. In 1923, Dew split the company into two businesses, one selling Essex and Hudson cars and one selling Cadillacs. Roy Dew Inc., which sold Cadillacs, moved to Third Street at that time, according to Times files.

However, W. Page Harris Jr., Dew's son-in-law and later one of the owners of the company, dated the beginning of Dew to 1915, according to a Times story, and said the dealership is one of the oldest in the country. Harris and partner Bob Burns bought the company in 1971 and changed its name from Dew Motor Co. to Dew Cadillac. Harris, who sold Cadillacs for more than 40 years, died in 1996.

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