One example of Belle Tire's hard-stuff approach is one of its latest initiatives: entering the sprawling, and very expensive, Chicago market.
"It's a high barrier to enter that market, ... everything just is more in Chicago," Barnes said. "Then when you look at the competitive set, the entities there have been there for decades."
Most of those competitors represent mega dealerships, as opposed to small or medium-sized regional retailers.
"So we looked at it as an opportunity to enter that market," he said, "and we are doing well."
With a population of roughly 9.5 million inhabitants, the Chicago metro area — aka Chicagoland — is the nation's third largest metropolitan area. Depending on the definition of the Chicago metro area, there could be as many as 5 million cars, vans, light trucks, etc. registered throughout the region.
Belle Tire opened its first four locations in the greater Chicago area in 2021 and today operates 30 locations in the Chicago suburbs — it has opened 10 there in the last eight months — with an eye toward operating as many as 80 stores there over the next few years.
The dealership has no outlets in the city of Chicago proper, instead targeting densely populated areas in the suburbs.
"We're really trying to set our roots down there," Barnes said. That means hiring local people and investing in strategic partnerships, just as Belle Tire has done throughout its history.
The dealership has established a promotional partnership with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, one of professional hockey's Original Six franchises, just as it has with the Detroit Red Wings, another member of the Original Six.
Barnes said the partnership is a way "to really infuse ourselves into the community because Chicago is a great sports town, just like Detroit is. That's one way to really build awareness and again, kind of entrench ourselves into the new markets that we're in."
Even future leaders of the company must navigate a hard path to reach the top.
The eldest of six siblings, Barnes knew early in his life that Belle Tire was his passion, sparked by dinner conversations his grandfather (Don Barnes Sr.), father (Don Barnes Jr.) and uncle (Robert Barnes) carried on.
In order to be put in a position to run the business, he first had to take the Family Leadership Program, a two-year initiative put together by his father and uncle for family members. The accelerated path to leadership has a simple but important premise: in order to be put in a position to run the company, one first must understand how the company runs.
"It's all about you working in every single job in the company, different lengths of time to really understand how it runs, and the importance of each position," Barnes said. "Our company, just like most, is just a big spiderweb of individuals and teams that have to work cross-functionally in order to achieve that common goal."
He said the program gives leaders the perspective to make better decisions.
Barnes first went to work at the Belle Tire recycling plant, then moved to the commercial tire department, where he changed tires on Interstate 94, "in the dead of winter." He also worked in the distribution center, a retread facility, in retail stores and in marketing.
Barnes, a Crain's Detroit Business 40 Under 40 honoree in 2022, was named company president in September 2014. "I am privileged to lead this great company," he said.