Former Island Tire owners Ryan and Nicole Grego may be hitting the road after seven years with the business. But their shop isn’t going anywhere.
Enter new owners David and Danny Sandoval. Born in California and raised in Jalisco, Mexico, the two brothers acquired the road-trip-saving business on May 24. A 13-year Keys veteran and 10-year employee of Lazy Days South in Marathon, David said the opportunity presented itself shortly after Danny decided to join him in the Keys about two years ago.
“Danny recently moved from California, and he said ‘Hey, let’s look for something different to do besides the restaurant,’” said David. “We started looking for businesses, and we knew Nicole and Ryan from Lazy Days. … We’ve done tires in Mexico before, so we decided to make an offer and see what happens.”
Working side by side with the Gregos every day as the business prepares for a full transition, the brothers said they’re working to bring back the skills they learned in high school. But as they tell it, compared to their experience in Mexico, “it’s a lot easier (here). We have a lot of nice machines.”
The Sandovals aim to live up to the high standards of customer service set by Ryan and Nicole – Island Tire was a mainstay in one or more categories at the Best of Marathon awards in recent years – and say that for the moment, they plan to keep everything “business as usual.”
“We’re not trying to add anything to it yet,” said David. “Hopefully in the future, we can move to a different place or buy a location or something. But for now, we’re gonna try to keep it the same way it is.”
“The tough thing for them is that when we bought the business, it wasn’t as busy as it is,” Ryan said, adding that the shop currently works through about 100 tires every week. “I don’t know that two people can do any more (than they are), and it’s tough to learn when it’s this busy.
“But I would say I’m a pretty hard worker, because you have to have a good work ethic for this job. I’m impressed with their work ethic, and I don’t say that lightly. We want this to continue on, and these guys are going to be great. They’re going to continue striving to take care of vacationers when they can, but their main focus is taking care of the locals.”
As for the Gregos, they’ll be hitting the road in an RV – presumably with brand-new tires – and traveling as Nicole continues to recover from health challenges over the last two years.
“What an amazing seven years it’s been,” Nicole told the Weekly. “We are blessed beyond belief and appreciate each and every one of our customers, most turned friends. Their support means more than we could ever put into words, and we truly live in a great community. Now it’s time to pass the torch.”
Give Island Tire a ring at 305-743-8755 for all tire-related needs. As stressed by the Sandovals, calling ahead to schedule appointments and maintaining a flexible schedule will help the eager new owners work through their learning curve.
