Driving Home with Lowcountry Entrepreneur and Luxury Automobile Mogul Tommy Baker By Megan J. Busch Photography by Patrick Brickman
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here are gentlemen all over the world, but it takes a truly special man to be a Southern gentleman. Tommy Baker, owner of Baker Motors, makes being one of these distinct gentlemen seem as easy as the breeze that whips through your hair on a warm Sullivan’s Island day. With his blue jeans, crisp white button-down, blazer, and penny loafers, Tommy hospitably invited the Charleston Home + Design team into his island abode to hear tales of the life and home he’s built in the Lowcountry. Referring to himself as a “Hungryneck,” Tommy has spent the majority of his life in the Charleston area growing his car dealership (along with his family) and making a striking impact in the community. Between falling in love with his wife, Vickie, nearly 30 years ago, buying Baker Motor Company in 1988, teaching an entrepreneur class at College of Charleston, and serving on MUSC Children's Hospital Advisory Board, Tommy has managed to create a stellar reputation of community involvement. Busy with the process of expanding and updating his business with the purchase of the Buick, GMC, Cadillac dealership in West Ashley, Tommy took a moment to offer us a relaxed afternoon on Conch Creek, complete with riveting conversation, striking vistas, and a grand tour of his Barbados-inspired home.
CH+D • Summer 2012
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