Gray's Tire to break ground on 5th Alabama location

WETUMPKA, Ala. — Gray's Tire & Service Center of Wetumpka will mark two milestones this year — expanding to five locations and celebrating its 20th year in business.

David Gray, the dealership's founder, owner and operator, hopes to break ground on the new location, in Prattville, Ala., within the next 45 days and open before year-end. The facility will have 10 service bays, two of which are pits, and a full-width vehicle clean-up/wash bay.

Family-owned Gray's Tire also has two locations in Wetumpka, where it was founded in 2008, one location in Auburn and another in Montgomery.

The 9,590 sq.-ft.-Montgomery location is the largest in the chain, with 15 diagonal bays, including alignment. The 8,719-sq.-ft. Auburn location has eight bays.

Prattville is a community of 34,000-plus about 15 miles northwest of Montgomery. Wetumpka is a town of 6,500 located 40 miles northeast of Montgomery and about 18 miles east of Prattville

Travis M. Rutherford, chief operating officer/chief financial officer, credits dependability, friendliness, honesty and integrity as the keys to the dealership's success.

"We endeavor to treat our customers like our friends, and provide quality service at fair prices," Mr. Rutherford said, "and we like to think our success has been rewarded by those efforts."

Mr. Gray said he and his team are grateful to our customers and our community for their support over the last 20 years, "and we strive to satisfy our customers' needs, and hope to exceed their expectations, and be a good corporate citizen."

Mr. Gray said he always loved the automotive business and dabbled constantly as a youth in all things mechanical, including cars and motorcycles. He used to help prepare cars for sale at his grandfather's used car dealership.

The young Mr. Gray learned from Amos Broadway, a chief mechanic at the dealership. Mr. Gray later purchased Mr. Broadway's own dealership several years later.

Mr. Gray worked at a local automotive shop during his high school years, working his way up from sweeping floors to becoming an automotive technician, then manager.

Mr. Gray opened his first shop March 1998 at age 22, taking over a vacant tire store location in his hometown of Wetumpka. He credits his wife Julie, along with other family, friends and supporters, for helping to launch the business.

Julie Gray, he said, "persevered through all of the challenges of the new business with grace and patience and continues to be supportive and helpful today."

One employee, Robert O. Griggs, an ASE master certified automotive technician, has been with the Grays since the first store opened and "remains a tremendous asset to the company and customers with his expert skills…sharing his knowledge and expertise" to help Mr. Gray hone his skills for more than two decades.

Matt King, one of Gray's managers, has worked there almost as long as Mr. Griggs, starting at the business in August 1998.

Mr. Rutherford said the dealership has no current plans to expand beyond the fifth location, but that could change.

"We are also open to purchasing existing businesses and have entertained a couple of them in the past several months, Mr. Rutherford said. "We want to make certain they will fit within our existing operating structure."