Net result: Johnson's Tire will have five stores

Dec. 27, 2011

By the end of next year, the owners of Johnson’s Tire Service expect to have five outlets in Alaska. They just won't be the same five outlets.

The Anchorage-based dealership announced that it will:

* break ground on a new store in South Anchorage in the spring of 2012;

* relocate operations at its Anchorage store on Minnesota Drive to its Denali Street facility, which is undergoing a major renovation.

Johnson’s also has stores in Eagle River, Wasilla, and Soldotna. The dealership provides tires and auto service for more than 100,000 vehicles annually.  During seasonal tire changes, the company offers 24/7 service hours.

The new South Anchorage store will be located near Old Seward and O’Malley. The store is scheduled to open in August 2012 just prior to the winter tire changeover season.

The Minnesota Drive store will close at the end of this year.

“With our lease expiring at the Minnesota facility, we saw this as the perfect opportunity to consolidate the Minnesota and Denali stores into a single, upgraded superstore and expand our operations to the south end of town,” says President Kelly Gaede, who co-owns the company with Vice President Michelle Hogan.

“Our Minnesota customers will find the same friendly faces waiting to serve them at the Denali Superstore since our entire team of tire experts is making the move with them. No jobs are being lost under our renovation and expansion plans. In fact, by the time everything is done, we expect to create more jobs.”

When renovations are complete in April 2012, the Denali Superstore will have a state-of-the-art showroom; a refurbished carwash; a comfortable lobby where customers can watch their cars being serviced on wall-mounted flat screens while sipping on free lattes; and a plush ladies room.

Vatau Alenepi is general manager of the Denali Superstore.

After the first of the year, customers can take a virtual tour of the Denali remodel by visiting the company’s website at www.johnsonstireservice.com.