Olave backs out, Stevens back in at former Carl Smith Chevrolet
Published 10:51 am Friday, May 4, 2012
Following a rollercoaster two weeks that saw the announcement of a the sale of Carl Smith Chevrolet to an out-of-town owner and the arrest of Smith on theft charges, the dealership has once again landed under the umbrella of former owner Chuck Stevens.
Stephen M. Olave, who was announced last week as the new owner of the dealership, said Friday he would not be purchasing the business, but wished the management and employees the best.
“I notified Carl Smith on Tuesday that I was withdrawing my offer and wished him the best of luck with his legal troubles,” Olave said. “I hope that the dealership does stay open for the economic benefit of Atmore, but I regret I will not be able to participate in that growth. I think if the right person, the right ownership, were to come in, there would be great potential.”
Jim Staff said Friday that the right management has arrived with Stevens once again taking the reins.
“It’s a good thing,” Staff said. “We’re going to keep it open back up and stay open. We just need to change the name on the sign.”
Staff said despite the confusion of the past several months, the transition back to Chuck Stevens should be seamless it will be back to business as usual at the dealership.
Staff said Stevens initially sold the dealership Smith November of 2011, with Smith owning a majority interest, but Stevens held on to a majority of stock in the company.
“What he did is he sold Carl his majority interest but held stock, until Carl defaulted on the loan and Chuck took it back over,” he said.