By David MacDonald I n the 17 years since its inception, Gateway Classic Cars has come a long way. The original garage and showroom in St. Louis no longer stands alone. It is joined by 10 locations in Chicago, Louisville, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Indianapolis, Dallas, Houston, and Nashville. Akbani’s nationwide team works in 500,000 square feet of space dedicated to the display of classic and exotic cars. On any given day, Gateway Classic Cars has on exhibition 1,600 cars for sale in a market that extends far beyond State Lines. In fact, over 11 percent of Akbani’s business is export. “There are cars that bring in the worldwide clientele every time,” Akbani explains. “From time to time, a 1967 Shelby GT500 Eleanor willroll in and people as far away as Japan are buying those from us.” Akbani is undoubtedly a man who sees a story in each and every car that comes into his care. “The historical cars we’ve had come in and out of our showrooms are the most memorable for me,” he explains. “There is one I remember taking in several years back. It was a Rickenbacker. Eddie Rick- enbacker was a flying ace during the First World War. He was an American of German decent. When he came home after the war, his best friend, Jimmy Durant – who started General Motors in 1908 – gave him a $5,000 loan and Eddie started building cars that he self-titled Rickenbacker. Like so many manufacturers in the 1920s he went out of business. Well, we ended up with a genuine Rickenbacker added to our collection which we eventually sold to a museum in Japan.”
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JUNE 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
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