Local business stays busy

Ready to serve you, front: Fernando, Noe, Joey, Francesco back: Coijon, Matteo, Mike, Noe and Kyle. Photo by John P. Rhaesa

By Dave Merchant – It might not be the Indianapolis 500 for changing tires but don’t tell these employees of the Tire Shop. They are quick and good at what they do.
Wayne has many businesses in the community but the Tire Stop is definitely one of the busiest. They not only do new tire installation but also specialize in having just about every used tire a customer could want on site.
Manager Francesco Ledda has been working for the company for several years.There are nine employees and one mechanic. Three of the employees are veterans who have been here over eight years and almost nine.
“With used tires we give a 30-day guarantee,” Ledda said. “Our business is about 60/40 used tires. It really is almost 70/30.”
They also do alignments which is very important for tire installations.
The location the store is at now has been that way for about five years. Prior to that they were across the street on Michigan Ave. They have a mechanic who can do more specialized repairs. The rest of the workers take off and put on tires.
The mechanic the store has is Mike Wilkins. He has been with them for about a year.
“I get about 25-30 customers a week,” Wilkins said. “A lot of those are repeat customers. I work on tie-rods and other issues. We do not do motor or trans work.”
He said it is best to make an appointment but if asked he will look at any vehicle necessary when it come in for tires or other problems.
According to Ledda the store is owned by his father Giulio Ledda and Bob Rosati who both can be seen working on different days.
“We sell low cost tires,” he said. “We get a lot of repeat customers and have commercial accounts we service as well.”
He said the store gets a lot of business late. They try accommodating everyone and if people come in at the last minute with an emergency they will do their best to try and take care of it.
“Fridays and Saturdays are our busiest time all year round,” he said. “We really don’t slow down at all. The winter brings people in when they find out they have no traction on their tires.” They can get a car done and back on the road replacing four tires in approximately 15-20 minutes. So it is much less time for one or two tires.
Ledda said he loves working with people and in retail. It involves solving problems and helping people.
“We have a lot of characters that come in here from locals to dealers,” he said. “The locals around here are a bit of a wild card.”
The Tire Stop is located at 32449 Michigan Ave. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday. Saturday is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The telephone number is 734-326-4814 and their website is www.tirestopwayne-.com.