JONESBORO, Ark. — Plaza Tire Service has opened a retail store in Jonesboro, its second in that city and eighth in Arkansas, with plans for one more in the Razorback State before year-end.
The new store expands the Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based dealership's network to 70 stores throughout Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky and northern Arkansas.
The new-construction store, which uses Plaza Tire's "signature" styling with green and red trim, spans 8,700-plus square feet and has eight service bays and storage space for up to 2,000 tires. It's located a few miles northeast of central Jonesboro in a growing retail business zone and about three miles from the existing Jonesboro store.
"We've been doing business in Jonesboro for more than 23 years," Plaza Tire President Mark Rhodes said.
"The city has grown tremendously during that time, and we're excited to have this new location open to help serve residents and businesses in and around Jonesboro."
Jonesboro is a city of about 67,000 people located in northeastern Arkansas about 70 miles northwest of Memphis, Tenn. It's home to Arkansas State University.
The service area for the new location is outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment for tire installations and repairs, wheel balancing, alignments, brakes, shock and strut replacements, oil changes, battery replacements and more.
"Our goal with our showroom layout is a clean, comfortable area for our customers," Vice President Scott Rhodes said.
"Huge windows overlook our bays for customers who want to watch the work performed on their vehicles. We also have a couple of TVs with different programming on each, and we have incorporated several high-top tables that are great for people who are trying to get a little work done while they're waiting."
This is the third store Plaza Tire has opened in Arkansas in the past year; the others are in Bentonville and Siloam Springs.
Besides the eight stores in Arkansas, Plaza Tire has 47 stores in Missouri, nine in Illinois and six in Kentucky.
With 70 stores, Plaza Tire is considered the 18th largest retail tire dealership in the U.S., based on number of stores.
