Four Generations of Innovation | Laird Noller Ford
By CORINN GUEMMER | Photos by BRIAN PETERS
In an industry where family dealerships are getting absorbed by corporate chains, Laird Noller Ford has stayed in the same family for four generations.
The Topeka-based dealership began with Willard Noller, a local farm kid who started his journey selling Ford vehicles before becoming a manager. When World War II halted car production, he temporarily pivoted to driving a bus before returning to the car business once the war ended.
By 1960, he’d bought out the dealership’s former owner. Willard spent the next five years developing what the Noller family says became one of the country’s first satellite used car lots.
Eventually, Willard’s son Laird took over and acquired the Lawrence Ford store in 1978. The second-generation owner expanded their dealership business to Hutchinson and Kansas City, and later across state lines.
Steve Noller, Willard’s grandson and the dealership’s current owner, started selling cars when he was 15. By 24, he’d become the third generation of Nollers to work in dealership management.
Things were going great for the dealership, said Steve, but the business met a temporary roadblock at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
“When you have no cars to sell, you find new income-producing businesses,” Steve said, describing how the company added a new RV center to help them weather the pandemic’s disruption to the motor vehicle production and sales markets.
In what some might call a surprising turn, Laird Noller Ford also shifted into the coffee business. The concept began as a mobile café and food truck before transitioning to a permanent space. Higher Grounds Coffeehouse and Deli unveiled their brick-and-mortar location in July 2024 at 2200 Southwest Topeka Boulevard, next to the dealership’s Topeka branch.
Steve says the idea was to improve the beauty — and sense of community — of the immediate environment surrounding their businesses.
“We can control our two blocks, and I want them to look nice for the community,” he said. “I’m very proud of the way Higher Grounds turned out. I wanted it to look like the coffee shops we see near our Montana dealership, and the feedback has been amazing. Bringing something new and unique to the area has been very rewarding.”
Higher Grounds is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to a full coffee menu, they offer breakfast, deli sandwiches and even catering services.
Laird Noller Ford also added a collision center capable of handling RVs, buses and semis. Their in-house auto hauling company, currently nine trucks strong, moves vehicles across the country each month.
“I enjoy starting new businesses and ventures. Some work, some do not,” Steve said. “If I do not have failures in business, then I am not trying enough.”
Laird Noller Ford now employs more than 550 people.
“We cannot let our employees down,” Steve said. “If we do not continue to grow, family dealerships will become a thing of the past.”
Steve says one of the key players in Laird Noller Ford’s continuous growth is general manager and managing partner Jesus Rentiya, who joined the company in 2023 after working as a dealership consultant.
“Steve is open minded. He trusts the younger generation,” said Jesus, who is 33 years old. “It is not normal for someone my age to be managing a group this size, but we share the same mindset. This is a family business, and our people matter.”
The two leaders say they often challenge each other to think differently and come up with ideas that might never have emerged otherwise.
Together, Steve and Jesus say they’ve more than doubled the dealership’s monthly car sales from 300 to as many as 900 by prioritizing customer experience, investing in marketing and offering what they describe as “aggressive” deals. They have also invested in employee training programs, developed clearer career paths and made employee well-being one of their top priorities.
“I am so proud of our company culture. Pay, benefits, time off, we have made sure this is a place people want to be,” Jesus said. “We are economy-proofing the business so that regardless of what is happening in the world, we stay consistent for both our customers and employees.”
Over the last year, construction-related street closures have made it challenging for customers to reach the dealership or the coffee shop. Steve says Laird Noller Ford’s solution was to find new ways to serve their customers by offering convenient vehicle pick-up and drop-off for service appointments. They also added a fleet of mobile service vans to conduct oil changes and tire rotations at people’s homes.
“We do not have time to complain or talk about what-ifs,” Steve said. “We owe it to our employees and their families to keep pushing. That is what entrepreneurs do.”
He says the Noller family takes their sense of responsibility to their employees seriously.
“My dad and grandfather taught me to share the wealth,” Steve said. “It gives our whole team pride to pass on our success.”
In the past two years alone, the company’s employee count has doubled. Steve’s daughter and his sons-in-law work for the business now, carrying Laird Noller Ford’s legacy into its fourth generation.
“It is in our blood,” Steve said. “I eat, sleep and breathe the car business.”
In addition to new business ventures, the dealership is always investing in ways to develop their employees into future leaders. Internal promotions are common, says Jesus, noting this is how they make their company culture stronger while encouraging long-term loyalty.
“You are not just a number here. There is a real plan for your success,” he said.
Steve agrees, adding that he sees every new hire as a chance to build a better future for the company and the people inside it.
“If we grow, they grow. And when they grow, their families grow. That is the point.”
