Discount tire shop

OKC-based Freddie's Discount Tire Service prepares to move out of

After 40 years in the same area, Freddie's Discount Tire Service is moving.

The business has been located near the intersection of Interstate 40 and Agnew Avenue in Oklahoma City since 1965, when Frederick G. Ash opened Freddie's Tire Service at 2001 S. Agnew Ave. Shortly after he retired, Frederick's son Ron Ash opened another Freddie's Tire at 2329 SW Fourth St. in 1992.

Now they're doing the realignment on I-40, and forced us to move, said Ron Ash on Tuesday. We're pretty happy. We didn't want to move, but we're moving, and I think it's going to be for the best. Ash said the state treated the company pretty fair throughout the relocation process.

A project to create a new I-40 Crosstown is in its design phase. The new Crosstown will extend from the I-35/I-235/I-40 interchange on the east to just west of May Avenue. The $350 million project realigns the Oklahoma City Crosstown portion of I-40 slightly to the south, displacing a number of businesses and homes. Construction contracts for the Crosstown are expected to be let during 2005.

Freddie's Tire paid $425,000 for the property located at 3104 W. Reno Ave., formerly home to Trailer Accessories. Chuck Collins, sales associate of Coldwell Banker Commercial Hocker & Associates, represented both the buyer and the seller.

It should be a plus for us, actually, said Ash. It looks like it's going to be a real nice area. Once we get it fixed up, it's going to be a nice shop.

Remodeling work is already under way to convert a former gun range and showroom into a tire shop. The new location will be about double the size of the current location, which measures just under 10,000 square feet.

Right now, we've got about eight bays, said Ash. We'll have 14 at this new store. The new location will likely provide more visibility, he added.

I know we're on I-40, but if you drive like me, you don't ever look at anything except the car in front of you, looking for brake lights, said Ash. I think actually we may get seen more.

The business has stayed roughly the same size for the past eight years, employing 16 and bringing in about $1.2 million in revenue each year. Business-wise, it seems like it does a little better every year, said Ash.

Although Freddie's is moving, don't expect any major changes. The family-owned business has been around for a long time, and likely will keep operating well into the future.

I've been doing this on my own since '90, said Ash. My dad had the shop before that, and his dad had a shop before that. This is the third generation - Actually, Clyde Ash started it. I think it was called Linwood Tire, because it was over on Linwood. And then when my granddad moved back to Arizona, my dad took it over and started calling it Freddie's Tire and moved down on Agnew and was there forever.

I've got one growing up, on his way, said Ash, speaking of his own son. I don't know if he's going to be in tires, but he probably will. He's in college right now, so we'll see how that works out.