ABOVE: Les Schwab Tire in Fairmont is set to open on April 16.

FAIRMONT – Amidst a midwest expansion, Fairmont is one of several locations in Minnesota to be receiving a Les Schwab Tire.

The company, founded in Oregon in 1952, is setting up shop at 1760 State Street North. The shop will open April 16 and have its grand opening May 2 and 3. It has 15,746 sq ft, seven liner bays and offers tires, brakes, suspension, alignment, oil and wheel service.

“All the front-end parts,” Area Manager Casey Longacre said. “We’ll get you in and out same day, with an unbeatable tire warranty. We do free flats, rotations, brake checks, air checks and pre-trip safety inspections.”

Longacre said the expansion started this time last year in South and North Dakota. He said demand was high, and it inspired further expansion into Minnesota.

“We quickly realize that people in the midwest have been craving a business model like ours,” Longacre said. “We think Fairmont will fit right into that trend of popular demand we’ve had. Austin had their grand opening last week. Same time as Fairmont we are opening in Marshall. Next week we’ll open Worthington.”

As for why Fairmont, Longacre said they looked at the population and main drivers for income to see if Les Schwab would be a good fit.

“Fairmont is right in our wheelhouse,” he said. “We want to provide folks here with another opportunity to make sure all the cars are road-ready.”

The idea is to create a network of Les Schwab centers, so drivers always have the option to go with what they know.

“When you’re traveling, we want to have a Les Schwab with you,” Longacre said.

Locations are also planned in Willmar, North Branch, Hutchinson, Moorhead, Blaine, Richfield, Rosemount and Sartell.

There are car services Les Schwab does not cover. To this end, Longacre said they want to uplift local businesses.

“We don’t do mufflers, exhaust, engine work besides oil changes, or transmissions,” he said. “We want to develop good relationships with businesses in town so we can make recommendations and build that web. We never go to market with the idea we put others out of business. We want to benefit our customers, and starting relationships with others helps us do that as much as possible.”

In addition to local businesses, Longacre said Les Schwab will seek to benefit community organizations.

“We love to be involved in 4-H, sports, area schools,” he said. “We like to do food and school drives, benefits. Anything to help out. We’ve built ourselves to where we are now on doing this. You name it, we’re going to have the backs of the community and ensure we’re involved.”

Even before the opening, Longacre said there is plenty to do.

“They’ll be out this week meeting vendors, part stockers, getting accounts started with them,” he said. “We also get in touch with school districts and other businesses, letting them know what we’re about here and foster that relationship. Get the crew hired, do a weeklong training and product unload for our open, and then in a few weeks have the grand opening.”

Currently, 130 applications have been fielded and 26 interviews have been conducted. Overall, Longacre said the goals for the Fairmont store are the same as with any business.

“Build a successful location and gain community trust so they have an understanding of who we are and what we do,” he said. “We have the opportunity to benefit Fairmont by providing jobs for 10 to 15 people. It can be nerve-wracking to think a big business is coming in. We operate independently, share 50 percent of the profits with our employees, and seek to uplift the small business community around us.”

For more information, visit lesschwab.com/stores/mn/fairmont/1760-state-st-n. For employment opportunities, visit lesschwab.com/careers.

*Editor’s note: This article ran in the Sentinel’s Spring car care section on March 28.