About Us · Barron, Wisconsin
A Barron dealership built by a Barron family — and kept here on purpose.
Swant Graber is the Chevrolet, Dodge, Ram, and Ford store on Highway 8. The Jerome family has owned it for decades. After they sold Jerome Foods / The Turkey Store to Hormel in 2001, they held onto the auto business so they would stay tied to the town that built both companies.
How we started
Third Street first. Highway 8 ever since.
The shop started in 1959 on Third Street in downtown Barron. Jerome Foods opened it to service the company’s own vehicles and equipment — the trucks and machinery that kept a Barron turkey company moving.
In 1962 it added retail sales as a Ford franchise. That was the first time neighbors could buy a vehicle from the same people who already knew how Barron winters treat steel. In 1973 the Ford store moved to its current home at 1697 E. Division Avenue, on Highway 8, where it still sits.
That origin is the opposite of a roll-up group landing in town with a new sign. The service bays existed because Barron work needed them. Retail sales grew because Barron families asked for them. The address changed once. The town did not.
The record
A Barron Story.
These are the dates that built the store you can still walk into on Highway 8.
Photo
Wallace Jerome starts the work that became The Turkey Store
The TEAM idea — Together, Everyone Achieves More — and the team handshake begin with Wallace Jerome. That culture later travels, intact, into the auto business the family kept in Barron.
Photo
Service shop opens on Third Street
Jerome Foods opens an in-town garage to service company vehicles and equipment in downtown Barron. The auto story starts as a shop, not a showroom.
Archive
Ford franchise — retail sales begin
The garage becomes a Ford store. Barron drivers can buy and service in the same place the turkey company already trusted with its own fleet.
Archive
Ford moves to 1697 E. Division Avenue
The Ford store leaves Third Street for Highway 8, the address that still serves as Swant Graber Ford.
1990
Dennis Sandmann starts on the sales floor
A lifelong Barron resident joins as a salesperson. Thirty-five years later he becomes general manager.
Archive
Jerome Foods / The Turkey Store is sold to Hormel
The family sells the turkey company and makes a second, quieter decision: keep the auto business. Barron would not lose both.
Today
Swant Bros. and Johnson Brothers join the family
In February the Jerome family buys Swant Bros. Inc., the Dodge franchise directly across the street, and Johnson Brothers Inc., a Chevrolet franchise moved into the Dodge building at 1690 E. Division Avenue. Chevrolet, Dodge, Ram, and Ford have sat across Highway 8 from each other ever since.
Archive
Brad Graber retires as general manager
After leaving The Turkey Store to run the dealership full time, Brad Graber holds the GM chair until 2016.
Today
Dennis Sandmann named general manager
After 35 years with the store, the salesperson hired in 1990 takes the chair. The next chapter is still a Barron chapter.
Dealership Photo
Team Photo
Dealership
One campus
Three brands. Two rooftops. One Swant Graber.
The group took its present shape in February 2002, when the Jerome family bought Swant Bros. Inc. — the Dodge franchise directly across the street — and Johnson Brothers Inc., a Chevrolet franchise that was moved into the Dodge building at 1690 E. Division Avenue.
This is a dealership where the brands sit together so you have the options on one campus. Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ram are at 1690 E. Division Avenue. Ford is across Highway 8 at 1697. Compare a Silverado to an F-150, or a Ram to a Super Duty, without leaving Barron to finish the conversation.
Sales and service stay on that same stretch of Highway 8, about an hour from Eau Claire and under two hours from the Twin Cities, for Rice Lake, Spooner, Chetek, Cameron, Cumberland, and the rest of Northwest Wisconsin.
Photo needed: both stores in one frame, Highway 8 in the middle.
Leadership
The people who stayed.
When the turkey company was sold, the auto store did not get a manager from somewhere else. The chairs have been filled by people who already worked here.
General manager, through 2016
Brad Graber
When the turkey company was sold, Brad Graber left The Turkey Store to become full-time general manager of the dealership. He held that job until he retired in 2016. The store’s present shape — the brands, two buildings, one town — was built on his watch.
General manager, 2025–
Dennis Sandmann
Dennis Sandmann, a lifelong Barron resident, started here as a salesperson in 1990. After 35 years with the store, he became general manager in 2025. Customers who bought a truck from him in the 1990s can still find him on Highway 8.
The TEAM idea
Together, Everyone Achieves More.
As owners of Swant Graber, the Jerome family continues to focus on the key business principles Wallace Jerome applied so successfully at The Turkey Store — most notably TEAM (Together, Everyone Achieves More) and the team handshake.
It mattered to Wallace Jerome in 1922, when he first started the turkey operation, and it matters just as much today: each employee should understand that what he or she does counts. That is evidenced by the long tenure of the Swant Graber workforce, with several employees having more than 30 years with the company.
A regional group can buy a sign. It cannot buy three decades of the same service advisors, the same parts counter, and the same handshake. Tenure is the proof that TEAM was not a poster in a break room.
Together
Sales, service, parts, and the detail shop work as one team. A customer should never have to navigate the gaps between departments.
Everyone
The work of every person counts. That principle shows up in the familiar names and long careers customers see throughout Swant Graber.
Achieves More
When people work together and take ownership of their part, the whole organization becomes stronger for the community it serves.
Questions people ask
Swant Graber, plainly answered.
Who owns Swant Graber?
The Jerome family of Barron. After selling Jerome Foods / The Turkey Store to Hormel in 2001, they kept the auto business so the family would remain tied to the community that built both companies.
Are the brands on one campus?
Yes. One campus, two rooftops. Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ram are at 1690 E. Division Avenue. Ford is directly across Highway 8 at 1697. You can look at the options without driving to another dealer.
When did the Barron Ford store open?
Retail Ford sales began in 1962. The Ford store moved to 1697 E. Division Avenue in 1973. Chevrolet and Dodge joined the family group in February 2002.
What are your hours?
Sales is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5:30, and Saturday 8:00 to 3:00. Service and parts are Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5:00. Both are closed Sunday, and the shop is closed Saturday.
Can I test drive more than one vehicle the same day?
Yes. You can drive more than one new or pre-owned vehicle, including a Chevy or Ram on one side of Highway 8 and a Ford on the other, and compare them before you decide.
Can I negotiate the price?
Swant Graber prices vehicles up front. The number on the vehicle is the offer, not the start of a back-and-forth.
What is my trade-in worth?
A guidebook number is only a starting point. The sales desk appraises the vehicle you actually bring in — condition, miles, equipment, history, and what similar trucks are doing in this market.
Do you service vehicles you did not sell?
Yes. Factory-trained techs on Highway 8 handle oil changes, brakes, tires, and warranty work for Chevrolet, Dodge, Ram, and Ford, plus most other makes.
Can I get financed here?
Yes. Financing is handled on the same campus as the vehicle. You can start an application before you drive over, then finish it in Barron.
Do you serve Rice Lake and Spooner?
Yes. People buy and service here from Barron, Rice Lake, Spooner, Chetek, Cameron, Cumberland, and the wider Northwest Wisconsin map. The store is about an hour from Eau Claire and under two hours from the Twin Cities.
Stop in on Highway 8. We’ll put the coffee on.
Three brands. Two rooftops. One Swant Graber. The options are on one campus, still owned by the family that chose to stay.