Brothers Bill and Jack Roper own and operate The Tire Barn Tire Pros in Gainesville, Ga., carrying on the legacy of their father and grandfather. Over the years, the family has relocated and the business has diversified, but the community has always benefited.
In the 1950s, the brothers’ father and grandfather opened a tire store in Canton, Ga. When the family relocated to Gainesville, the brothers’ father set up shop there, recapping tires. While going from community to community, the business also needed to diversify.
“Over the years, recapping died away and we slowly moved into retail sales,” Bill says. “As we made this transition, we began to offer brake work, tune-ups and alignment.”
All the while, the Roper brothers adjusted to the community and made it both their place of business and their home. “We’re small-town, but large enough for good restaurants, an excellent regional hospital, numerous venues for entertainment, good weather year-round and the best-sounding accent in the country!” Bill says.
Jack and Bill Roper, Owners of The Tire Barn Tire Pros
Bill and Jack have also made the community and better place for their customers and employees.
“We’ve always been very pro-environment, recycling virtually everything in the shop from day one,” Bill says. “For years, we supplied health insurance, and now with spiraling costs, we still give every employee a health allowance to offset insurance costs — and we pay more to get better employees.”
The brothers also support various community organizations, including a pregnancy outreach service, a single-mother assistance agency, a local arts council and local churches. This commitment to service carries over from their in-store service to customers.
“Cars are very personal items, and the customer/shop relationship is often deep and long-lasting,” Bill says. “I feel honored when a newborn is brought by the shop, when a customer brings us cookies or when we’re able to get someone in need back on the road. I can’t think of any other industry where we’re able to have this deep of a relationship with the customer.”
In business, it’s important to keep up with the times to stay competitive. As The Tire Barn shows, it’s also important to keep up with the community in order to make a difference whenever possible. For more information about The Tire Barn Tire Pros, visit www.thetirebarn.com.
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