Ahmad Fares knows some tire customers still want to walk into a store, talk through their options and schedule an appointment face-to-face. He also knows others would rather research tires online, compare pricing after hours, send a text instead of making a phone call and pay for everything before they ever step inside a shop.
At Tallmadge Tire Bros, Fares and his brothers, Morad and Fares, are trying to serve both.
“We’re trying to attract those buyers to us who like to see the pricing (upfront),” says Fares, co-owner of Tire Bros, a family-owned group of five Ohio tire dealerships. “You’re not going to be haggled. You’re not (going to get) one person telling you one price, another person telling you another price. You see it right there in front of you.”
Tallmadge Tire Bros, which opened in February 2025, is the newest location in the Tire Bros group. The company also operates shops in Bellevue, Cleveland, Columbiana and Mansfield.
<img src="https://img.moderntiredealer.com/files/base/ebm/moderntiredealer/image/2026/05/6a18a24951c5b5db41fd255b-faresbrothers.png?auto=format,compress&fit=max&q=45?w=250&width=250″ alt=”Morad, Ahmad and Fares Fares” loading=”lazy”>
The business is owned by three brothers — Ahmad, Morad and Fares Fares — who each help oversee different locations. But the Tire Bros name did not start as a polished branding strategy. It grew out of a practical need.
The brothers’ first shop was East Side Tire, a business that already had a name and history in its market in Bellevue, Ohio. When they later added Columbiana Tire and Westown Tire, they initially kept those names, too. As the group grew, the brothers wanted customers to understand the stores were connected, so they added “Bros.”
Eastside Tire became Eastside Tire Bros. Westtown Tire became Westtown Tire Bros. Tallmadge Tire became Tallmadge Tire Bros.
“We were just brainstorming a way for people to know that it’s all one,” says Fares.
The brothers did not grow up planning to build a tire dealership group. Their family background was in convenience stores and liquor stores. Their father had spent years in the convenience store business, and the brothers followed that path early in their professional careers.
But Fares says the work did not feel like the right long-term fit.
“It was good for the money, but not good for the soul,” he says. “We didn’t enjoy it.”
The automotive industry felt like a more natural fit.
“I knew all of us enjoyed cars,” he says. “My brother Mo was the first one to step out and get into Eastside Tires, and it kind of trickled down to everyone else following suit.”
When the brothers sold their last convenience store, they used that transition to move fully into the tire and automotive repair business. Tallmadge Tire Bros became the group’s fifth location.
Today, the company’s growth strategy is opportunistic rather than planned. Eastside was acquired in 2016, Columbiana in 2018, Westtown around 2020, Mansfield around 2023 and Tallmadge in 2025. Fares says the brothers are not trying to add locations on a fixed schedule, but they will look at opportunities that make sense.
“If something pops up, we definitely would take a look,” he says. “(But) it’s only three of us trying to run all of these locations.”
As Tire Bros has grown, the brothers have also invested in making their website more functional. The company worked with Tire Tutor to implement e-commerce tools that allow customers to shop for tires and wheels, view pricing, schedule appointments and access financing options online.
“We always had a website, but it really wasn’t functional,” Fares says. “You couldn’t even look at wheels. We didn’t have a wheel configurator. It was really basic.”
Now customers can select tires online, choose the Tire Bros location closest to them, schedule an appointment and pay in advance. The tires are delivered to the store, employees perform the installation and the transaction is already largely complete when the customer arrives.
Fares says the process can reduce friction for both the customer and the shop.
“Let’s say a customer purchases tires online and the tires get delivered here, it’s already paid, the employees do the work, we put in the vehicle information and it’s done,” he says. “(The website) makes it easy.”
Even with the added functionality and seamless transactions, Fares does not view e-commerce as a replacement for the in-store experience. He sees it as another layer of service.
“This is really just adding another layer to the customer service,” he says.
Tire Bros still does most of its business the traditional way. Fares estimates about 80% of sales still happen inside the shop, with roughly 20% coming through online channels. He would like to see online usage grow, but he also recognizes that customers shop in different ways. Some still want to call. Some want to walk in. Others do not want to talk to anyone until the appointment is set.
“In the world we live in today, everything is almost online,” he says. “You even have some people who’ll make those appointments or inquire about tires, and they don’t want to be called. They just shoot me a text or send me an email, and that, to me, in today’s world, is very beneficial.”
Fares understands his customers are busy, much like he is. He’s considered his own purchasing behaviors and tailored his service to match any gaps he’s encountered.
“A lot of people are working,” he says. “Especially during the times and hours of our shop, 8 to 5. Most people are at work 8 to 5. So it’s easy to answer an email while you’re at work or on your lunch break.”
The company’s online wheel tools have been especially helpful. Customers can browse more options than a showroom can physically display, and employees can direct shoppers to the site when they want to see styles, availability and pricing across the full scope of products that Tire Bros can stock.
Before, Fares says, a customer might walk into a shop and see 10 wheel options on display.
“There are thousands of options of wheels,” he says. “Online, (we can) show you everything we carry.”
Fares believes being able to show customers a wider range of products online helps smaller stores compete with online-only sellers, while still offering something those sellers cannot: a local place to return to if something goes wrong.
“If you have a problem, even now, you have to go to the person you bought the tires from,” he says.
Fares says customers sometimes focus only on the online price of tires or wheels without factoring in mounting, balancing, disposal, TPMS sensors, lug nuts, warranty issues or the hassle of transporting products to a shop for installation. He believes Tire Bros can offer a better balance — digital convenience backed by a physical store and people who can help.
When a purchase is completed through Tire Bros website, customers enjoy the convenience of shopping online with the ability to research, price compare, order wheels and tires and schedule an installation date all in one place. Those same customers also get all the benefits of making a purchase through a tire dealer, with the Fares brothers ensuring the quality of the product and installation, recommending related service and following up with suppliers and manufacturers in the event of an issue or a warranty claim.
“I like going somewhere where I can discuss my options, or if I have an issue, I can speak to someone,” says Fares.
Tire Bros’ goal is not to become an online tire seller. It’s simply to make a family-owned tire dealership easier to do business with in the modern age of technology, where expectations can vary from one customer to the next — and for Fares, that is the real opportunity.
“I do think that it is a good thing to have an online presence, but also a physical place a person can go to,” he says.
