In 1960, Fairway Chevrolet was opened in Freeland by founder Albert A. Corazza with just four employees. In those early days, Fairway Chevrolet offered the hot models of the day: Chevy Impalas, Biscaynes, and Corvairs. Though we sold just 141 vehicles in our first eight months, within two years the business was selling over 500 vehicles a year. Albert knew there were no limits to just how much the store could grow. That optimism led him to purchase our facility in Hazleton in 1965. This doubled Fairway Chevrolet's operational facilities and capacity. We continued to expand our facilities during the early 1970s until Albert's unexpected passing in 1974.
Following her husband's death, Albert's wife Laura took control of Fairway Chevrolet and helped to build it into the highly successful business it is today. When Laura and Albert's son Jim joined the family business, Fairway's growth exploded. In 1984, the mother-son duo purchased a Subaru franchise and opened an additional facility at Church and 28th Streets. Applying the same kind of dedication to customer service that helped Fairway Chevrolet flourish brought similar success to this new store. Fairway Subaru is now named as one of the top 15 Subaru dealerships in the region.
With Jim's son Al now onboard as part of the Fairway team, Fairway Chevrolet has been operated by three successive generations of the Corazza family. While many other dealerships are owned and operated by large corporations, we're proud to have continued as a family-run business that offers a true hands-on approach. That dedication to our customers led General Motors to recognize Fairway Chevrolet as one of the leading Chevrolet dealerships in the U.S. The Corazza family believes the dedication every single employee offers to customers is what makes Fairway Chevrolet stand out.
In addition to our many happy customers over the last 50+ years, Fairway Chevrolet is proud to have the loyalty of its employees as well. In a world where people routinely change jobs throughout their careers, Fairway is extremely proud that we have team members that have been with us since the 1960s and 1970s! The Corazza family credits these loyal employees with helping Fairway Chevrolet and Fairway Subaru to be the successful enterprises we are today.
Fairway is also one of GM's original Business Elite dealers with a dedicated team to work with companies and their fleets. From one vehicle to hundreds, the Fairway Fleet Team is ready to serve with the same emphasis on customer service. We'll even deliver the trucks right to the fleet buyer so they don't have to take attention away from their business.
While we're proud of our past, we're always keeping an eye on the future as well. We recently completed a massive renovation to improve our facilities and the experiences of our customers even more. The building's size was doubled, and customers can now enjoy Wi-Fi access, a Starbucks cappuccino service, flat screen televisions and new furnishings in the customer lounge.
At Fairway Chevrolet, our focus has always been on treating people with the highest level of care and respect. The National Auto Dealership Association certified our staff in recognition of their ethical and fair treatment of our customers. Fairway Chevrolet was also presented with Chevrolet's "Genuine Leader" award for exceeding Chevy's standards for sales and customer service. We're certainly proud of the awards and accolades we've received over our first half-century, but nothing beats coming in and seeing what a difference that really makes when buying or servicing your vehicle. So we invite you to come see it for yourself and you'll see what we say "No One Beats A Fairway Deal… No One!"
