INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Incline Village Tire Department has changed hands this month as previous owners Catherine Pons and Dan Lee decided to retire after owning the business for a little over 10 years.

Pons said that after so much time, they’ve decided to sell for a few reasons.

“You know, age, and also the way the town is changing,” Pons said. “People aren’t as nice as they used to be. At our age and health and everything all together, we had a chance to sell to people who we think are going to be successful with it. So we did.”

Pons said that their reason for originally starting the tire department store was due to harsh prices in the Reno and Carson areas, but the reason they stayed for so long was because of their great relationships to loyal customers.

“We made a lot of friends during the 10 years that came to the shop and then became friends, and we kind of became probably one of the best tire suppliers,” Pons said. “It’s nice to give to the town, that’s the best.”

The new owners are tire shop owner and auto-repair shop owner Rual Huerta and Justin Wood. The two decided to purchase the shop when the opportunity arose to be closer to the Tahoe community.

“I’ve always wanted to expanded, and that opportunity came by and I kind of partner with Justin to make the initial investment,” Huerta said.

The new business owner also runs a tire shop in Carson City called City Tire Pros, and an off-road auto-repair shop in Reno called Folbeck 4 Wheel Drive.

“We want to keep it local,” Huerta said. “We didn’t want someone else coming in from outside … a lot of times local businesses usually get bought out by local businesses, unless it’s a larger chain or something.”

Huerta said that he and Wood are excited to keep the same quality service at the shop and hopefully carry on the same great relationships the previous owners had. Through employing locally and listening to his customers, Huerta believes they can make it happen.

“All the employees there are local, they like the customers there and that’s why they go there,” Huerta said. “That’s why they work there, that’s why they commute there. They love the customers, the environment. They like what they do.”

The stores hours will stay the same, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information about their services, reach out at 777-833-1577.