Heartland auto shop to close after nearly 62 years
JACKSON, Mo. (KFVS) - After more than half a century in business, Johannes Auto Sales Inc. is closing its doors. Owner Jim Johannes said a lack of reliable employees was the primary reason for the decision.“You hire somebody, and they don’t last very long; they’re gone, it just gets to be a nightmare,” Johannes said. “That’s the reason for giving it up, I mean, I couldn’t do it anymore, I couldn’t put up with it mainly.”Johannes opened the shop in 1963. The business, recognizable by a Rolls-Royce mounted above the building, has been a fixture along the Jackson roadway for decades.Johannes said he received interest from potential buyers for the property, but those discussions did not result in a sale. With other family members pursuing their own careers, he said there was no one to pass the business to, leading him to put everything up for auction.“Donna’s the only child I had, and she has two children; I had kind of had hopes for the boy, but he’s over in northern Indiana working, so we left that out, so there was nobody to leave it to anymore,” he explained.Johannes’ daughter, Donna Schuette, said she is left with fond memories of growing up around the business.“When I was about five, my uncle was in Vietnam, and my dad would take pictures and send them to my uncle, but he had a Polaroid, and it was expensive, so he didn’t want to take a picture of me and take a picture of the yard. So he would take pictures of me standing in a dress waving,” she said.Schuette said the full weight of the closure may not set in until auction day.“I’m sure the day of the auction, it’s going to hit me a little harder. We’ve just been busy preparing now just to get everything organized and close it down,” she said.Schuette added that having Tri-State U-Wrench located across the street has made the transition easier.Despite closing the shop, Johannes said he does not plan to stop working entirely.“I’ve just worked all my life; I’ve worked every day. And I just can’t get used to not working. That’s why I’m here today, I’m here almost every day,” he said.Johannes Auto Sales will have an auction on March 21 where they will be putting up everything from tools to the entire property. Johannes said Tri-State U-Wrench will stay open and operate as usual. Copyright 2026 KFVS. All rights reserved.
