When Frank Endersby walked into Country Tire Service in August, he was only looking for a part-time job.
Yet when he asked then-owner George Eburne for work, he was told Eburne wasn’t looking to expand the business but to sell it. It was then Endersby realized he was getting back into the tire store business full time.
“I said ‘oh boy, here we go again,’” Endersby, 60, said.
Originally from the Lower Mainland, Endersby grew up in the tire and automotive repair business from a young age. His father bought Midway Tire and Chain back in 1973 and Endersby went to work for him a year after he graduated high school in 1980.
Eventually, Endersby got into business with his older brothers and ran Midway Tire and Chain until 2010, running seven different stores and managing 88 employees. After almost 30 years, his brothers decided to retire and Endersby joined the Midway Tirecraft Association, which had bought their business.
“I worked for them for the last 11 years and then I just decided I wanted a different pace and to get away from all the wonderful traffic in Aldergrove and start a new endeavour. As you cruise towards 60 years old you start to realize how much time you’re wasting in traffic and that your years on this earth are minimizing,” Endersby said.
He chose to settle in 100 Mile House, which he said is “wonderful lake country.” Endersby bought a house on Unicorn Road with his wife Debbie McNeil and moved to the area in mid-August. They spent the next few months settling in.
Endersby, along with McNeil and their son Josh McNeil, took over Country Tire Service on Jan. 4. He said he is blessed that Eburne left him with a solid group of workers.
“My experience in the past has been with every size of tire right up from large off-road haul tires down to wheelbarrow tires, so I’ve got lots of experience with every different kind of tire and wheel package.”
Endersby is in the process of adding a new showroom and a waiting room, to be ready for the spring tire change season.
“I’d like to thank everybody for welcoming us to the community. We look forward to serving your vehicle needs be it custom wheel packages or automotive repair from bumper to bumper.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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