NEW BUSINESS ON THE STREET: 26TH PLAZA TIRE SERVICE BRANCH OPENS

Plaza Tire Service Inc. of Cape Girardeau has opened a new store in Farmington.

Keith Lay will manage the new six-bay store at 747 Weber Road.

Plaza Tire has 26 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas. The Farmington store marks the fifth new store for the company in 1997. Earlier this year, stores were opened in Pocahontas and Searcy in Arkansas, and in Fredericktown and Perryville in Missouri.

The company offers full lines of Dayton Centennial, Bridgestone, Firestone and Michelin tires, along with a full-auto service department, which provides brakes, shocks, batteries and wheel alignment.

Plaza Tire was founded in 1963 by Vernon "PeeWee" Rhodes of Cape Girardeau. The company originally started as a full-service carwash at 2149 William. Today, at that site, Plaza Tire operates a 12-bay service center, along with a 50,000-square-foot warehouse and 8,000-square-foot operations office.