AUTO TIRE & PARTS OPENS NEW BRANCH IN ILLINOIS

Auto Tire and Parts Center, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, recently opened its 15th store at Chester, Ill.

"We held the grand opening there in early May," said Mike Himmelberg, general manager of the firm. "This is our first venture into Illinois, and we're proud to be a part of the Chester community."

The new store stocks a large inventory of both foreign and domestic automotive, agriculture and truck parts, along with a complete line of DuPont Automotive Paint products.

"The new location offers access to one of the largest automotive and heavy duty machine shops in the area," said Himmelberg. "Our Auto Tire and Parts warehouse is located at 212 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Because we pick up and deliver on a daily basis, our Chester customers can have their engine or drive shaft rebuilt in Cape Girardeau and have it delivered the next day."

Auto Tire and Parts, founded in 1909, has long operated 14 retail parts stores from Ste. Genevieve to New Madrid.

The company is owned by John Tlapek and Robert Janet, of Cape Girardeau.

"We have some aggressive future growth plans and look forward to opening additional stores in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois," say Tlapek and Janet.