TBC opens NTB stores in Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (June 24, 2016) — TBC Corp. has acquired a pair of retail tire stores in Corpus Christi and rebadged them as NTB Tire & Service Centers, marking the debut of the NTB brand in this Texas Gulf port city.

TBC acquired the stores from Dennis Dolce, who had operated them for the past 20-plus years under the Delta Tire & Wheel banner. Adding these two stores expands NTB's presence in the Longhorn state to 105 locations, TBC said, and more than 480 overall in 26 states.

“With the addition of these locations, we now have the opportunity to expand our offerings to another community in Texas,” said Markus Hockenson, senior vice president of retail operations for TBC, “and we're eager to introduce the Corpus Christi community to the NTB brand.”

The locations — on South Padre Island Drive near downtown and Northwest Boulevard on the northwest side of town — have eight and six service bays, respectively. Both outlets offer NTB's usual complement of tires and automotive services.

Mr. Dolce turned 70 earlier this year and said that it made him realize it was time to retire. He took over the South Padre Island Drive store in the 1990s and built the second store 10 years ago.

He said he started in the tire business in the 1970s as an auto store manager for Sears, Roebuck & Co. and later moved to Texas to manage stores for Delta Tire, which at that time had a few dozen stores throughout the state.

The Delta Tire & Wheel stores used the familiar Delta logo of the Delta brand tire marketed by Del-Nat Tire Corp., of which Mr. Dolce was a shareholder.

After TBC Corp. acquired many of Del-Nat's assets in 2015, Mr. Dolce switched to buying from TBC, a move that led indirectly to the deal that saw TBC acquire his stores.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Mr. Dolce complimented TBC for their professionalism in closing the deal.

Mr. Dolce now volunteers part-time with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), an initiative of the Small Business Administration, and said he thoroughly enjoys working with the organization.