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New building being built in Owatonna, opens next summer

The Marthaler Honda dealership in Albert Lea is slated to move to Owatonna next summer after the construction of a new building there, the dealership’s general manager said Friday.

Chris Knutson said the decision came down to Honda itself, noting the company has image compliance requirements for its franchises if they want to get the most support from Honda.

“We really appreciate all the support we’ve received down here,” he said. “We’re sad, too … a lot of people think it’s us, that we want to move, but we don’t have much choice in the matter.”

He hoped the Albert Lea Honda customers from over the years, including those under the prior ownership, will continue to support them in the future and make the 30-minute drive to Owatonna. Marthaler Honda purchased Wuerflein Honda in March 2023.

“We’re hoping that it’s such a short distance between the two towns (that) all the customers we’ve served here, we hope everyone comes with,” Knutson said.

Most of the company’s employees are from the area, including Austin, Albert Lea and Freeborn, and are expected to transfer to the new location when it is open, he said.

He noted there are ongoing talks of what to do with the Albert Lea building, and some of the ideas being considered include turning it into a large body shop or service center or even possibly what he described as a runner facility.

“We want to still keep a large footprint down here because the community has been so good to us.”