Ramona Tire breaks ground on 17th store

REDLANDS, Calif. — Ramona Tire & Automotive Service Centers has broken ground on a 5,000-sq.-ft. retail store in Redlands that the dealership expects to have open by June.

The new store, located adjacent to the Mountain Grove center in the city of Redlands, will be Hemet, Calif.-based Ramona Tire's 17th location. The store is expected to provide employment for 16, Ramona Tire said.

Gayle Covey from the San Bernardino County Supervisor's 3rd District jointed Ramona Tire Partners Don Digby and Christ Wyborny and others Dec. 22 for the ground-breaking.

Redlands is a city of about 72,000 inhabitants in San Bernardino county.

Ramona Tire is Bridgestone Affiliated Retailer and a founding member of Independent Tire Dealers Group. It employs 175 at its 16 stores in Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties.

The dealership is the 11th largest independent tire dealership in California and among the 70 largest in the U.S. It reported sales of $28.5 million in 2016, split 35/65 tires to auto service.

Others attending the ground-breaking were: Brent McManigal of Gresham Savage; Mike Cariola, project architect; Paul Whitehead and Bob Shaffer of JG Construction; Mark Sandoval of Mark Development; Kurt Kurtti of KG Development Partners.