Telle Tire acquires 2 locations, plans to relocate HQ

ST. LOUIS — Telle Tire & Auto Centers has acquired Jerry's Tire Sales in Edwardsville, Ill., and a former Subaru car dealership in St. Louis, where it plans to relocate its headquarters.

Jerry's Tire is 45 minutes east of St. Louis and will expand Telle Tire's footprint into Illinois. With the two purchases, Telle will have 20 locations throughout the state of Missouri and in Illinois.

Jerry's Tire was founded in 1962 and owned and operated by brothers Brian and Keith Lee.

"Brian and Keith over the years have built a fantastic and loyal business with great associates. Their values and commitment to service align with Telle's culture," President and CEO Aaron Telle said.

"We approached Jerry's about five years ago expressing interest and have kept in touch ever since. Timing was finally right for both parties, and we are excited to have the opportunity to be stewards of the business and to build upon the successes of Jerry's Tire," Telle said.

The store in downtown Edwardsville is housed in a 9,400-sq.-ft. building with nine service bays and is capable of stocking up to 1,500 tires. He said Telle Tire will be retaining all nine associates.

Telle Tire also acquired the real estate of a former Subaru dealership in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves.

The former car dealership will serve two purposes: providing Telle Tire with a new 10,000-sq.-ft. tire and automotive service center with nine service bays and providing the company with a much-needed larger corporate headquarters with 4,000 square feet of office space, the dealership said.

"We are so excited to have a new location in Webster Groves along with it serving as our new headquarters. Through all of our expansion over the years, we have continued to office out of the original location from the 1940s and we are literally busting at the seams. We are going through an extensive remodel of the shop areas, offices and exterior of the building. We are really excited with the investments we are making in this space and project," Telle said.

The new location also will house conference rooms and a training facility.

The Webster Groves store is slated to open April 1 and the corporate offices will be relocated by June 1, the company said.

Telle Tire's real estate arm acquired the real estate in both Webster Groves and Edwardsville as part of the company's focus on controlling and owning its own real estate, Telle said.