About Barley Automotive in historic Ste. Genevieve, Missouri 63670 -- Chevrolet | Buick | Pontiac | GMC | Parts | Service

BARLEY AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY

K.O. Barley moved to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri and opened his original business, Barley Equipment Company, an
International Harvester farm implement dealership in 1945. He originally operated in the downtwon area until the
completion of a new state of the art facility that was built on the then outskirts of Ste. Genevieve. K.O. and his team
moved into the new facility in late 1946. Over the next several years he acquired the Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and
American Motors (Rambler and Nash) automotive franchises. K.O. was joined by his son Ken in the mid-1960s and
they operated the business until K.O. retired in 1973 and sold the franchises.

In 1981, Ken Barley and the late Dr. Delbert Chase purchased the local Chevrolet-Buick dealership (originally owned
and operated by Bud Tlapek) and opened under the name Barley-Chase Chevrolet Buick. From 1981-1983 the
dealership operated from the original Tlapek location on Market Street in downtown Ste. Genevieve. In 1983 Ken
moved the dealership to it's current location (the Barley Equipment Company facility built by K.O.) at the intersection
of U.S. Hwy 61 and State Hwy 32. Ken later purchased the remaining shares of the corporation from Dr. Chase and
rebranded the dealership Barley Chevrolet Buick.

K.O.'s original Oldsmobile and Pontiac franchises changed hands several times within the Ste. Genevieve community
before General Motors made the decision to phase out the Oldsmobile brand. In 2003, Ken was able to re-purchase
the original Pontiac franchise (along with GMC) from Leo Reuther. The dealership now
operates as Barley Automotive with Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, & GMC franchises.

Scott Barley (Ken's son) is now the third generation to manage the automotive dealer operations in the Ste.
Genevieve community.

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