NORTH LIMA, Ohio – A new retail sales, parts and repair business for over-the-road trailers plans to set up shop at a location along state Route 7, with the goal to be underway by the end of this year.
Mark Higinbotham, principal for Skymark Enterprise LLC and CEO of Buckeye Trailers Inc. in Leetonia, said he plans to redevelop approximately 10 acres along the thoroughfare and convert a former restaurant at the site into a sales office for trailers and trailer parts.
“This will become our headquarters,” Higinbotham said. Most recently, the building at 10826 Market St. housed the Five Branches Smokehouse restaurant. That establishment closed in August of 2024.
Higinbotham said the spot is ideal for his long-term plans, which include a lot for trailer inventory and redeveloping two buildings at the rear of the property that are suitable for service work and a parts warehouse. The location is just south of the state Route 7/Ohio Turnpike interchange, which attracts a heavy volume of daily truck traffic.
“You could not ask for a better location,” Higinbotham said as he walked the grounds outside the closed restaurant. “With this site, we’re going to have easy service right off the turnpike.”
The building targeted for the company’s service operation already boasts five service bays, Higinbotham said. “It’s turnkey,” he noted, while the warehouse structure contains two additional bays.
Higinbotham said the new offices will serve as a sales, distribution and service center for various brands of flatbed, gooseneck, step deck and other commercial trailers used for hauling. Some of those trailers sold at the location would be those manufactured at Buckeye Trailers’ fabrication plant in Leetonia.
“We’ll retail some Buckeye trailers, but we’ll also retail a lot of other brands as well,” Higinbotham said. “Buckeye Trailers is a brand that we manufacture, but we’re not just going to sell Buckeye. We’ll have other brands.”
Higinbotham established Buckeye Trailers in 2016 and relocated its manufacturing operations to the former Mitsubishi building in Leetonia in May 2025.
As of yet, there is no name for the new retail and service center, and the project is still in its early stages.
“We’re going to build this out in phases,” Higinbotham said. The goal is to get the sales and service portion of the business operational by the end of this year, and gradually expand over the following two years. “It’s about a three-year project.”
In total, Higinbotham said he estimates the entire investment at approximately $2.4 million. The new operation is expected to employ at least 10 people.
The first step was to acquire the lot where the closed restaurant is situated. Records from the Mahoning County Auditor’s Office show that Skymark Enterprise purchased the building and 1.6 acres for $400,000 from Bahamusa Inc. on Dec. 22. Renovations at the structure are already underway.
Near-term plans call for the acquisition of the adjoining lot to the north, where a former service station once stood, and the lots to the rear of the property.
Murray Davis, who operates the Davis Motel on a contiguous lot just south of the proposed retail and service offices, said he sold the restaurant property to Higinbotham, and the plan is to sell him the former service station property and the back buildings as well.
“This was one of the original turnpike diners,” Davis said of the former restaurant building. According to auditor records, the restaurant was constructed in 1957.
Davis, who is considering retirement in several years, said it was the right moment to sell the property. “The opportunity arose where he wanted it, and I thought it was good timing. I’m looking at my age, and I decided to go forward,” he said. “I wish him the best of luck.”
Higinbotham said his effort complements recent developments in this portion of North Lima, such as a Love’s travel plaza that opened two years ago.
“We’re excited,” Higinbotham said. “This location – this is what we need.”
Pictured at top: Mark Higinbotham, principal for Skymark Enterprise LLC and CEO of Buckeye Trailers Inc.