MEDWAY, Mass.—Direct Tire & Auto Service, which has operated four stores in the Boston metro area for 18 years, has added a fifth location and plans to open three additional stores in the next two years.
Direct Tire cut the ribbon May 22 on its newly built Medway store, touting its efficient and “green” design. The 7,300-sq.-ft. facility sports eight bays housing in-ground and flush-mount Rotary and Nussbaum lifts and a flush-mounted alignment rack.
“This set-up allows a safer and easier work environment for my staff and less likelihood of damage to cars from the above-ground post lifts that are always too close together,” said Direct Tire CEO Barry Steinberg. “This design also allows us to work on lowered vehicles without issue.”
The store's basement houses seven tanks filled with automotive fluids. Self-retracting reels at three stations in the building help maximize efficiency, Mr. Steinberg said.
The tanks and hoses for the different viscosities of motor oil are color-coded as a fail-safe way to provide the correct oil for each vehicle, he said.
All used oil is returned to a 1,500-gallon tank so the dealership can burn the oil for heat in the winter.
The shop features three individual customer service kiosks with chairs, instead of a front counter, so customers can experience a “personal touch vs. the divider of the counter,” Mr. Steinberg said.
“I am planning to use this identical footprint and design for our next store and the ones to follow. We are planning on three more locations in the next 24 months,” he said, without disclosing the investment to build the store.
The Medway store employs 10 with the expectation of increasing to about 14 as business increases.
The store manager is Doug Smith, a 30-plus-year Direct Tire employee, who is assisted by Assistant Manager Tim Haynes and Service Manager Ed DeGeorge.
An Advance Auto Parts store was built next door to the Direct Tire store and they will share a parking lot.
The ribbon cutting was held in conjunction with a store event for the Medway High School football team and cheerleaders.
The teens participated in games that included throwing a football through a 20-inch tire to win a free oil change or throwing the ball through a 14-inch tire from 25 feet away to win a $100 prize. (Much to the embarrassment of the football players, a cheerleader won the latter challenge, according to Mr. Steinberg.)
Besides its original store, founded in 1974 in Watertown, Mass., Direct Tire operates locations in Norwood, Peabody and Natick, Mass.