Johnson's Tire closes; Anchorage bank offering assistance

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Johnson's Tire Service, one of Alaska's largest retail tire dealerships for past few decades, ceased operations Nov. 3, leaving scores of customers with winter tires in storage in limbo.

Anchorage-based Northrim Bank has since foreclosed on the dealership's lone remaining store, in Anchorage, and is offering to help the dealership's customers retrieve tires stored at Johnson's Tire's "Tire Hotel."

"While the Bank is not legally obligated to do so, Northrim is making every attempt to ensure the tires in the Tire Hotel are returned to their rightful owners," the bank states on its website.

"In that regard, the bank appreciates your assistance and cooperation in identifying your tires and in identifying yourself as the owner."

Attempts to reach the dealership have been unsuccessful. The phone numbers are disconnected and the company's website and Facebook page are no longer in service.

The 35-year-old Anchorage-based business had been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since late 2015. Over the past few years it had consolidated to just the one store in Anchorage, according to local media reports.

At one point in the early 2000s, Johnson's Tire had five locations in and around Anchorage.

The dealership's financial problems were tied to a lawsuit brought by the contractor that built its South Anchorage store in 2012.

The suit left Johnson's Tire owing more than $630,000 in claims and legal fees to H. Watt & Scott of Anchorage as well as the leaseholders at the South Anchorage location, local media reported in 2015.

The company was founded in 1982 by Jim Johnson. One-time Nokian Tyres executive Kelly Gaede bought the business in 2006.