Plaza Auto Auction celebrated their 60th year in business with an anniversary auction Aug. 30 and one of the largest sales the auction house has had in a number of years.
Plaza Auto general manager Sean McNeal said planning for the 60th anniversary sale began the minute after the 59th anniversary sale concluded in 2022.
“We were trying to pick a theme, and the concept of a racing to our 60th anniversary with NASCAR ticket giveaways to some of the dealers who frequent the auction was a key idea,” McNeal said.
Along with that, work went on gathering vehicles to be included in the anniversary auction, with more than 350 vehicles going through the auction house’s three lanes during the sale.
Ruzicka Catering also provided a catered meal for attendees.
Previous owners and employees at Plaza Auto were invited back to reminisce on the business being in the community for the past 60 years.
“You know you never really leave Plaza,” one of those employees who was retired, but came back to help for the large sale, joked with a fellow retiree.
McNeal said that for him and his family, the auction on Wednesday was a family affair, with his wife and kids helping out in different capacities.
“Most of my kids have their driver’s licenses, so they’re able to drive cars through the lanes,” McNeal said. “My wife runs the booth keeping up with sales.”
He himself worked at Plaza years ago, driving cars for the auction house.
During COVID-19, the business relied more heavily on running online auctions as opposed to in person auctions, but as things have returned to normal, the auction house has found a way to integrate the online sales with the in-person auctions.
“There are some dealers who find it more convenient to be able to participate in the online auctions because they have other life commitments that particular day, but we also have a fair amount of dealers who still make traveling to Plaza their Wednesday stop,” McNeal said.
He attributed the success of the auction house to the years of dealers who close up shop on Wednesday afternoons and travel to Mount Vernon to bid on the vehicles.
“It’s 100 percent those dealers who have made this a destination over the years,” McNeal said.
Plaza has remained at roughly the same location all those 60 years. They utilized the building on the east of their property originally as the auction house, with the site of the current auction house being furniture store and restaurants back then.
Current owner John Quinn said that Bob Edelman and Mark Greb did a great job in making the location and auction house one that dealers would return to week after week.
Quinn has owned the business for four years now, and noted that the COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after he took ownership of the business.
“Luckily, we had started making the investment in cameras and were ready to pivot to doing an online auction during that year,” Quinn said. “The majority of dealers still love coming to the lot, kicking the tires and inspecting the cars in person if they can.”
Quinn said he was proud of the staff and team working at Plaza who were able to get 350 cars for the anniversary auction.
Quinn said that there are not many changes coming to the business. He wants to see them carrying on like they have for the past 60 years, providing an auction house experience for dealers while embracing technology where it seems to work best for and keep up the excellent customer service they have had for the past 60 years.
A display of a T-shirt quilt from past T-shirts used at Plaza Auto Auction, as well as items that were news in 1963 or notable celebrities of the time. Plaza Auto Auction celebrated 60 years in Mount Vernon Aug. 30.