Historic Dealership Near Mercedes-Benz USA Headquarters Changes Hands in Deal That Includes Prime Piedmont Road Real Estate
Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead, the luxury automotive landmark at 2799 Piedmont Road that has served Atlanta’s elite for nearly a quarter-century, has been sold by its pioneering owners to publicly traded Group 1 Automotive in a transaction that closed August 4, 2025. While Group 1 has not disclosed the purchase price in SEC filings, the dealership generates $210 million in annual revenue and Fulton County property records show a $50 million real estate component to the deal.
The sale marks the end of Gregory and Juanita Baranco’s stewardship of what became one of the Southeast’s most successful Mercedes-Benz operations, a dealership they co-founded with former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young in 2001 and later moved from its original location to make way for the St. Regis Hotel development.
From St. Regis Site to Piedmont Road Prominence
The dealership’s journey to its current 80,000-square-foot covered facility on Piedmont Road tells a uniquely Buckhead story. Originally awarded the Mercedes-Benz franchise for Buckhead in June 2003, the Barancos first established their showroom on a prime site that would later be coveted by luxury hotel developers.
Easlan Capital purchased the Miami Heights Market Center—the former Home Depot location—for $15 million specifically to relocate Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead and make room for what would become the St. Regis Atlanta. The developers behind that project included Atlanta real estate investors John Meshad and George Berkow, who transformed the original dealership site into the 151-room luxury hotel and 45 condominium units that opened in 2009 and remains the centerpiece of the Buckhead Village.
Strategic Proximity to Mercedes-Benz USA Headquarters
The dealership’s significance extends beyond its impressive sales figures. Its location places it just minutes from Mercedes-Benz USA’s North American headquarters at One Mercedes-Benz Drive in Sandy Springs, a gleaming facility known as “1MB” that opened in 2018 and currently houses approximately 800 employees. In May 2025 Governor Brian Kemp announced that Mercedes-Benz would expand its Sandy Springs presence, establishing it as the company’s full North American headquarters by consolidating corporate functions and adding up to 500 more jobs.
The Baranco Legacy: From $25,000 to $210 Million
The Barancos’ automotive journey began far from Buckhead’s luxury corridors. On April 4, 1978—exactly ten years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination—they purchased their first dealership in East Point with $25,000 of their own capital, establishing one of the first black-owned car dealerships in metropolitan Atlanta…