Surprise...Big O franchisees open 6th Ariz. store

SURPRISE, Ariz. (July 30, 2015) — A Big O Tires franchise partnership has opened a Big O store in Surprise, its sixth franchised store in the Phoenix metro area.

The greenfield store, built in a new development in the western suburb of Phoenix near Arizona State Route 303, is equipped with five service bays, according to Big O Tires L.L.C., the franchisor of the Big O concept.

The store's owners are Karl Gabbard, Desiree Elliott and Ian Downing. Mr. Gabbard is owner or part owner of six Big O stores through his business, DMS Enterprises Inc. He's been operating Big O stores for 21 years.

Ms. Elliott is Mr. Gabbard's daughter. She joined him in the business a few years ago and now manages the business' locations, according to a Q&A with Mr. Gabbard posted on Big O's franchise site.

Mr. Downing is a separate Big O Tires franchisee who's a partner in this store. He opened his first Big O outlet in 1997, according to his LinkedIn page.

“Big O Tires is proud to continue building our footprint in the Arizona market with great franchisees like Karl, Desiree and Ian,” said Kevin Kormondy, executive vice president and COO for Big O Tires, a business unit of TBC Corp.

“We look forward to strengthening our new-store growth in 2015 and positively impacting the communities we serve.”

The Surprise store opened in late May. DMS Enterprises' other stores are in Glendale, Goodyear, Sun City and Phoenix (two stores).

The Surprise location is the 54th Big O Tires outlet in Arizona, according to Big O's website, including 26 in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.