Direct Tire under new ownership; 2 stores sold to Sullivan Tire

WATERTOWN, Mass. — When Barry Steinberg, founder and CEO of Direct Tire & Auto Service, died April 27 of prostate cancer, he had already worked for several years on a succession plan for his dealership's three stores in the Boston market.

His long-time general manager, Bob Lane, has purchased the dealership's flagship location in Watertown; and Sullivan Tire and Auto Service will be acquiring the Direct Tire locations in Medway and Peabody on May 4. A fourth location, in Norwood, will close later this month.

Mr. Lane said he has worked at Direct Tire for 25 years and over the past three years had been working closely with Mr. Steinberg on a succession plan.

He told Tire Business that there will be no changes to the operations of Direct Tire, which specializes in servicing high-end and Euro vehicles, as well as more popular cars and light trucks.

Longtime employees Doug Smith and Clark Goodpaster have been retained at the Watertown location to help with a smooth transition, he said. All warranties and prepaid packages will be honored and customers will see many of the same employees at the shop.

Meanwhile, Norwell, Mass.-based Sullivan Tire's acquisition of two Direct Tire locations will increase its store count to 75 throughout New England.

Mr. Steinberg and Sullivan Tire had "a long relationship dating back decades. Built on similar values of community involvement and philanthropy as well as integrity in the auto service business, the mutual respect between the two organizations made the acquisition a natural fit," Sullivan Tire said.

"Barry was always highly respected in the community and in the industry, and he was a steadfast supporter of taking care of customers and employees, which have always been top priorities of Sullivan Tire," said Paul Sullivan, vice president of marketing. "We hope to retain all employees to carry on the tradition of excellence that customers have come to expect."

The impact of the pandemic last year took its toll on Discount Tire's Norwood location and it was unable to recover from the loss of sales, according to Mr. Lane.

The dealership had to reduce staff at all its locations by half during the height of the business shutdowns last year, but now staffing is back up to about 80%, he said.

Mr. Lane now has 20 employees at the Watertown store and is expecting to hire more by mid-summer.