Uptown Tire Company is celebrating two meaningful anniversaries. One is the business’s 60 years of operation, and the other is the one-month anniversary in its new location in Latonia.
Owner Josh Birch expanded to Northern Kentucky adding to Uptown Tire’s Norwood location after Covington residents repeatedly recommended that he open up a store across the Ohio River. He took that advice when he found an attractive corner location near the intersection of Decoursey Avenue and 32nd Street.
“We scouted around and we saw this location and met with the landlord and everything worked out really well for us here,” Birch said. “We got a lot of customers from Covington coming to the Norwood location because they can’t find a place that sells decent used tires or low-cost new tires over here. So on the advice of the customers, we checked this location and opened it up.”
Birch took over the business upon the passing of his parents five years ago. His mother and father started Uptown Tire in Norwood in 1965 and built a solid foundation and reputation for themselves there. Now, Birch carries on the tradition of offering low prices and high customer service for the patrons that visit either store.
“We sell new and used tires, we sell Interstate Batteries at a price cheaper than AutoZone or Advance Auto Sales. A customer told me that she bought a battery at Autozone for $115 last year, and I just sold her the same battery for $85, so we saved her a lot of money,” he said.
Uptown Tire also harbors U-Haul trucks in its lot as part of the other side of the business. In addition to the moving trucks and the tire shop, Uptown also provides roadside assistance services with its very own truck that helps customers when they need it the most.
“We have a tire changer and everything on the truck so if a customer has a flat tire and they’re stranded, if they let us know what size tire to bring with us, then we can change it right there on the spot.”
The roadside assistance costs $25, plus the cost of the replacement tire.
Birch said that the business peaks throughout the year with the weather playing a significant role.
“After the first snow, tires wear out really fast, just because of people sliding around. Once they get a good set of tires on there, business starts to slow up in the winter and picks back up in the summer,” said Birch.
He also said that the move to the new location has been even more positive than what he expected, partly because he offers products at a rate that local customers can afford and seek out.
“It’s been going pretty good,” Birch said about opening up the new store. “A little better than expected. We’re getting a lot of positive feedback from the community. When we sell our used tires, we guarantee them for 40 days, where most used tire places guarantee them for 20 to 30 days, and then they’re charging people around here $35-$40 a tire, but we charge just $25 for a used tire.”
He is able to undercut some of his competitors when it comes to price because of the sheer bulk that Uptown purchases weekly in terms of used tires. Birch said that the company purchases up to 400 tires a week.
Another side of the business is also brewing, Birch said.
“We’re focused on our two stores right now, but we’re seriously considering buying a tow truck. We’ve been in talks with AAA, so hopefully that should be coming up soon. We’re looking to buy a used rollback tow truck to where we can fix it up and paint it up really nice, make it look good. Someone’s transmission might go out on the highway and they just want it towed home.”
Birch would also like to see Uptown Tire get into some light mechanic work, but the Latonia location doesn’t have the space on site. The idea is to possibly rent a space to keep the tow truck and the possible mechanic work in the future, but those plans are still up in the air.
Birch and his fiancée, along with a longtime family friend, help supervise both stores that have four employees in Norwood and two in Latonia.
“I have a person that is my like my uncle who worked for my father for 30 years, and after my father passed, he just continued working for me. So he and my fiancée run the Cincinnati location, and I’m over here trying to build this up,” he said. “In Cincinnati, I employ four people and here it’s me and another guy. As business picks up, I will look to hire another man or two. Especially if I get a tow-truck, I will look to hire a licensed tow truck driver and as the tires start to sell more, I will need another tire technician, and that will free me up to go from store to store.”
Uptown Tire is open seven days a week.
“Our customer service is unique in this industry because we actually care about the customer and we try to build a personal relationship with the customer,” Birch said. “Because we’re not some big corporate store, when a customer needs a tire, we want them to think that they can go to Uptown Tire and that they know we will take care of them.”
Story & photo by Bryan Burke, associate editor