Brown’s Parkrose Tire Factory was one of many locations recently bought by the multinational Point S. Co-owner and general manager Kelly Brown, first row, second from left, said their high quality service remains the same, but they now have a more diverse selection of products.
STAFF/2015
Brown’s Parkrose Tire Factory is now Brown’s Point S. It is at the forefront of a wave of conversions as the 200 Tire Factory stores join the larger, international Point S brand.
Point S is “a good fit for us,” co-owner and general manager Kelly Brown said, and the name is “more modern, more progressive.” It is more logical, too. “We aren’t a factory, and we do more than tires,” catering to a whole line of car service needs, Brown added.
The store has been given a makeover. They took all the tires out, resurfaced the floors, refaced the service counter, installed new lighting and changed the signage and the color scheme. And that was all in one week, without closing the store down. It looks great, but nothing has changed behind the new décor. It is the same crew in the store, and even the distribution center is the same—but the greater buying power is making itself felt with lower prices.
Kelly has worked in the store “since day one out of junior high school in 1980.” His father, Bob Brown, opened the store in 1978 and retired in 2014. Which is when Eric Gill’s Nelson Tires Inc.—a group of 14 Tire Factory stores—bought the store and its assets after Bob’s retirement. In May 2015, that 200-member co-op joined Point S, which has 3,500 members in 27 countries.
At Brown’s Point S, the focus remains on the community. “We have an extremely loyal and great customer base,” Kelly said. “They’re fantastic people. Otherwise it’d be just a job. I know just about everybody that walks in the store.”
Parkrose resident Dorothy Lyman is “like our work mom,” according to Kelly. Apparently she brings the boys treats. “Cakes, brownies, cookies—you name it, oh my gosh,” said Kelly.
Dorothy had equally warm words for Brown’s. They take good care of her car, she said, and has been going to Brown’s since 2004. “I rely on them,” she said. “They wouldn’t do anything that’s not needed, and it’s a good feeling to have a place like that.”
Dave Luce, the beloved Can Man known for his years of support for Parkrose High School, is also a customer. “It’s a great outfit,” he said. “Everybody is very, very accommodating.” Besides tires, the Can Man mentioned batteries, windshield wipers and front-end alignment as things he and his two sons turn to Brown’s for.
Parkrose resident Bill White has depended on Brown’s for 11 years. He has taken his three vehicles in “for just about everything,” he said. He likes the new look of the store, but that is not what makes the biggest impression on him. “As long as they’ve got the same guys,” he said. “It’s the service I go for.”
Brown’s Parkrose Point S Tire & Auto Service is located at 12030 N.E. Sandy Blvd., and they can be reached by telephone at 503-255-8710.
