SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Plaza Tire Service has opened a second retail store in Springfield, a community of about 167,000 residents that Plaza Tire President Mark Rhodes said is "experiencing tremendous growth."
This is Plaza's second opening in Springfield in four months and expands the Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based dealership's network to 62 stores in four states.
The new store, a greenfield construction on Springfield's southwest side, spans approximately 8,650 square feet and features eight bays equipped to handle a large volume of vehicles. It opened with eight employees.
The other Springfield store, on the city's east side and closer to downtown, was a remodeling of an existing six-bay automotive shop, Plaza Tire said.
The company did not disclose its investment in either store.
Plaza Tire Vice President Scott Rhodes noted that the new store follows the dealership's signature open atmosphere layout, with large windows in the showroom overlooking the service bays to allow customers to watch the work being performed on their vehicles.
In the service area, Plaza Tire has invested in state-of-the-art equipment, including Hunter Engineering's Quick Check vehicle inspection system, which streamlines the initial inspection of various vehicle systems, including tread depth, alignment and brake force.
Plaza Tire has opened six stores in the past nine months; the others are in Moberly, O'Fallon and Warrenton, Mo., and Mount Vernon, Ill.
At 62 stores, Plaza Tire ranks 17th among independent retail tire dealerships in the U.S., according to Tire Business research. The stores are located throughout metro St. Louis, mid- and southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky and northeast Arkansas.