From Grit to Groundbreaking: Chris Wagner’s Journey to Building a Legacy in McCook

McCOOK, Neb. – The journey of Chris Wagner didn’t begin with a ribbon-cutting, but with a promise. As a teenager, he was already an entrepreneur, a side hustle artist inspired by his father who “would rebuild [cars] and then sell them.” When a local dealer offered him a job, Chris was eager to start immediately, wanting to graduate midterm. But his mother, following the untimely loss of his father, had a different plan. “I told my mom I’m gonna see it through (and finish his senior year with his class). That was my promise to my mom, because we’d lost my dad,” he reflects. That promise set him on a path of hard-won success.

Decades later, Chris Wagner is no longer a kid cleaning up cars in a gas station bay. He is the president of Wagner Auto Group, and on July 30th, he stood with his family and employees to celebrate a monumental groundbreaking. The new 42,000-square-foot, multi-dealership facility on North Hwy. 83 will bring Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet together under one roof — two separate businesses, but sharing the same space — on a spacious seven-acre site. It’s a project designed to improve customer convenience, expand parking, and give employees the benefit of a state-of-the-art, air-conditioned shop.

For Chris, the project is deeply personal, rooted in the lessons he learned as a young man. The death of his father taught him about responsibility and the need to be prepared for the unexpected. This is why he pushed his own sons, Garrett and Chandler, to get a college education, a story he tells with candid, poignant honesty.

His mother’s struggle after his father’s passing also instilled in him an empathy for the vulnerable, a value he has carried into his business — from treating customers with respect to his philosophy on community giving.

That same community focus extends to his current downtown properties. Wagner said he hasn’t lined up buyers yet, but he intends to be selective. “Downtown is important to me,” he explained. “I want to make sure whatever goes in there is a good fit for our community — it’s not just about selling to the highest bidder.”

He sees the new dealership as more than a place to sell cars. It’s a space where the next generation of Wagners will carry on the family name, and he’s been preparing them for this moment for years. One example: the “Crusin’ the Bricks” car show, which his sons and their wives run, a test of responsibility and teamwork. “I wanted to see how those four people get along,” he says with a proud grin, knowing the foundation of mutual respect they built is far more valuable than any sales training.

The new facility is part of his ongoing investment in the community he calls home. Chris fondly remembers the legendary “Wagner Mixers” and plans to revive the tradition, creating a space for neighbors to gather. He envisions hosting events in the evenings — an act of practical giving that feels more genuine than a traditional ad campaign.

Construction is expected to take about 15 months, with a target completion date in late 2026, depending on weather. When the doors open, Chris hopes his six grandchildren will see the facility not just as a business, but as a monument to what it means “to build something lasting.”

As construction begins, Chris Wagner’s journey comes full circle. From the car wash bays where he first learned the trade to a groundbreaking that marks a new era, his story is a powerful reminder that true success is measured in promises kept — to family, to community, and to yourself.