Luxury auto dealer buys Ruth’s Chris building on Keystone

The owner of Coast to Coast Imports has bought the building on the north side that last housed a Ruth’s Chris Steak House and plans to open another one of his local auto dealerships on the property.

Yousef Barham said he will invest $5 million, including purchase price, to demolish the building at 9445 Threel Road, near the busy intersection of Keystone Avenue and East 96th Street, and build an 18,500-square-foot structure to house the dealership.

Demolition should start in mid-January, with completion of the showroom and service center expected sometime in the fall, Barham said.

Launched by Barham in 1999, Coast to Coast has two locations—5350 N. Keystone Ave. and 9200 E. 131st St. in Fishers—both of which will remain. The dealership specializes in pre-owned luxury automobiles such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche.

“As a company, we see 96th and Keystone as the [area] for the luxury franchise stores,” Barham said. “And that’s honestly who our competition is, so we want to be right in the middle of where that is.”

Tom Wood Automotive Group, for instance, not only sells Jaguars and Porsches along the East 96th Street corridor but Audis and Land Rovers as well.

In October, Tom Wood unveiled its new, 45,000-square-foot Audi facility at 4610 E. 96th St., about a mile east of the old Audi location.

Tom Wood’s Audi and Porsche dealerships previously had shared 27,000 square feet of space. But growing demand for the luxury German car brand prompted Tom Wood to undertake the roughly $8 million expansion.    

Coast to Coast sells about 2,000 vehicles a year, with a healthy out-of-state clientele derived from the company’s website, Barham said.
 

Ruth’s Chris left in August 2014 for space at the Ironworks development on the southwest corner of East 86st Street and Keystone Avenue.