100 Years in Bossier: Two Family-Owned Businesses Continue to Thrive

Two family-owned businesses have survived for more than a century at their original locations in Bossier. Their businesses thrived when only three percent of family-operated businesses make it to the fourth generation or beyond.

Red River Chevrolet

221 Traffic Street

George Patton Fritze, the fourth generation of his family to head Red River Chevrolet, is just as excited about his work as he was when he started 54 years ago at age 14. Throughout his career, Fritze has kept abreast of developments in the automotive industry to provide top-of-the-line technology, services and financing options.

“We have four all new electric vehicles coming out this year: the Blazer EV (Motor Trend’s SUV of the year), the Silverado EV, the Equinox EV, and the Corvette E-Ray,” said Fritze. “We are now offering e-contracting in our finance office for most customers.”

“In 1922, our dealership was originally a Ford dealership, The Bossier Motor Company,” said Fritze. His great-grandfather bought it and added the Chevrolet line. His grandfather, Patton Hawkins, dropped Ford and changed the name to Red River Motor Company. In the 1950s, Hawkins’ son-in-law, Dick Johnson, and Fritze’s father, James N. Fritze, partnered. James became dealer in 1960 and Fritze has been dealer since 2012, when his father retired.

Among its 103 employees are Fritze’s son, Patton Fritze (General Manager of Fixed Operations), and son-in-law, Alvin Olsan (General Sales Manager. Grandson Stander Olsan worked with his father, uncle and grandfather during summers while in high school.

“We believe that three things are needed to have a good business: good location, good product, and good people. Chevrolet has been the leading product in our market area for decades, and we have had the pleasure of a wonderful staff of excellent employees. The future is bound to be exciting with many changes ahead.”

Maggio Grocery & Deli

401 Thompson Street

Two young boys played together in Italy, fought together in World War I and then immigrated to the U.S. on the same boat in 1919. They made their way from New York to Louisiana, and each opened a store in the small town of Bossier, which had a population of less than 3,000 people. Their children continued to run the family businesses and then, a grandchild of one of the lifelong friends married a grandchild of the other. 

If this was the plot of a novel, you might think “unbelievable.” But it happened to Vince and Sharon Peters Maggio, the couple who operate this neighborhood business known for friendly atmosphere, community service and an amazing variety of goods. 

Sharon said that the couple has been married 42 years and she has worked in the store since 1985. Vince, Sharon and their three employees operate the store and deli, which serves around 100 meals a day.

Vince represents District 5 on the Bossier City Council and was co-founder, along with Pastor Mark Rodie, of Cumberland Farms, a service organization and community garden built on land originally owned by the Maggio family.

He says he has always lived and worked in Bossier’s District 5 and would never want to live anywhere else.

“I’m proud to live in BOSSIER CITY!”