From left: Virginia Tire & Auto Service founder Myron Boncarosky, his wife Carole, daughter Julie Holmes and her husband Mike Holmes.
AKRON, Ohio – Virginia Tire & Auto, a family-owned and operated
independent tire dealer with 11 retail locations around Washington, D.C., has
been named winner of the 2011 Tire Review Top Shop Award.
Now in its fifth year, the
Tire Review Top Shop Award, presented by Ammco/Coats, seeks to honor the
“best of the best” independent tire dealers in the U.S. and Canada.
Headquartered in Fairfax,
Va., Virginia Tire & Auto is wholly owned by Myron Boncarosky, his wife,
Carole, and daughter, Julie Holmes, and her husband, Mike Holmes. Perfectly
situated among the fast-growing D.C. suburbs – Ashburn, Sterling, Centreville,
Chantilly, Falls Church, Gainesville, South Riding, Springfield, Vienna and
Fairfax – Virginia Tire & Auto draws from an extremely large base of customers.
In fact, Loudon County, Va., where a handful of its stores are located, was the
fastest-growing county in the U.S. in 2010.
The company’s 2010 gross
sales totaled $37.3 million, with an additional $24 million in gasoline sales.
Virginia Tire & Auto’s sales are solely from retail, of which 23 percent was from
tires last year, while 77 percent was from vehicle service.
The owners place a premium
on maintaining a tradition of world-class customer service, and creating a
family atmosphere among its nearly 400 full- and part-time employees.
Virginia Tire is part of the
Goodyear Tire & Service Network and Bridgestone Americas’ Affiliated Dealer
Program, and carries a variety of tire brands, including Bridgestone,
Firestone, Goodyear, Kelly, Dunlop and Toyo products.
“Our commitment is to the
customer,” says Julie, “and, in our eyes, the customer always comes first. We
believe that if we exceed our customers’ expectations of honest, courteous and
quality service that they will not only return, but they will be willing to share
their experiences with others.”
“Winning the Tire Review Top Shop Award really is the
best,” says Myron. “That award means so much, and has been won by some really
upstanding tire dealers. We are excited to now be counted among that group of
elite tire dealers. For us, this is the most prestigious honor in our industry,
and to win this award is a reflection of all of the things our employees do
each and every day. This is all about them and their efforts.”
In addition to the Top Shop
winner, three Finalists were also honored this year. This year’s finalists
include:
- Hay Tire Co., with two locations in Charleston,
S.C. Founded in 1981, the dealership is owned by father and son, Henry and
David Hay.
- Family Tire & Auto Service, headquartered in
New Bern, N.C., with another location in Morehead City, N.C. Founded in
October 2005, Family Tire is owned by another father-son team – David and
Dennis Bucher.
- Tate Boys Tire & Service, based in
Bartlesville, Okla. Founded in 1988 by brothers Craig and Chuck Tate, Tate
Boys has four retail locations.
As the Top Shop winner, Virginia
Tire receives a Coats APX90 tire changer, a $1,500 cash prize, airfare and
hotel for two (2 nights/3 days) to the 2011 Global Tire Expo/SEMA Show in Las
Vegas, a feature story on their business in the October issue of Tire Review,
and a specially designed trophy to display in their stores.
Three Finalists will each
receive a Coats 1250-3DV tire/wheel balancer, a $500 cash prize, a feature
story on the dealership in the October issue, and a specially designed finalist
trophy.
For the 2011 Top Shop Award,
Tire Review accepted entries from Jan. 1 through July 8. From the full group of
nearly 100 entrants, judges selected 20 semi-finalists, which were then required to complete
an extensive entry form and provide details about their business, including
their size, sales mix, merchandising techniques, customer service, training,
achievement, and their role in their community. From there, eight semi-finalists were chosen for final judging by an
independent panel of judges.
“The Top Shop Awards were
established to spotlight and recognize the independent tire dealers that best
exemplify the attributes and values we stress with every issue of Tire Review,”
said Jim Smith, editor of Tire Review. “We want these winners and finalists to
be an inspiration for others in our industry, and I think our judges did a
great job in selecting Virginia Tire as our fifth Top Shop Winner.”
Entering
its 112th year of continuous publishing, Tire Review, a sister publication to aftermarketNews.com, is the oldest, most widely read B2B magazine serving the tire
industry in the world.
From left: Virginia Tire & Auto Service
founder Myron Boncarosky, his wife Carole, daughter Julie Holmes and her
husband Mike Ho
