Published in the September 21, 2018 edition
By GAIL LOWE
MELROSE —His face lights up when he talks about his retirement plans.
Tony Koles, the former owner of Montvale Tire on Main Street and a second store on Montvale Avenue in Woburn, signed papers on Monday, Sept. 10 to sell the business to Sullivan Tire & Auto Service.
Koles’s retirement plans have been in the making for the past three years. In business since 1968 on a lot in Woburn, formerly owned by Phillips 66, Koles moved operations to Melrose in 1973 when Phillips moved its business out of New England. He had the full support of local business owners and friends to move to his current Main Street location, and Melrose auto owners have come to depend on Koles for tires, regular maintenance, oil changes and brakes and shocks.
TONY KOLES (Gail Lowe Photo)
At the beginning of 2017, Koles approached the owner of Sullivan Tire & Auto Service and asked if he would consider the purchase of Montvale Tire in Woburn. Then, he asked if Sullivan would consider buying the Melrose store. in the fall of 2017, conversations between the two became more serious.
“We came to a meeting of the minds and worked out the details,” said Koles, adding that he was mostly concerned about his long-time employees, including Store Manager Richard Ells (44 years of service), Dave Frissore (24 years) and Mike Quinn (20 years).
“My customers have always asked for Mike when they need tires changed,” said Koles. “When dogs walk past the store with their owners, they wait until Mike comes out and pets them. All my former employees have good relationships with people in the community.”
Koles gives credit where credit is due for his success in business. “Without my excellent staff, I couldn’t have run a business,” he said. “I like to think that over the years, I’ve treated them with respect and have taken time to thank them. I’ve tried to be fair with them.”
Koles is confident that he departed from his business knowing that his employees will have new opportunities and greater ability to better themselves.
“I’m comfortable leaving them because they’ll be doing similar jobs with a company that has a similar philosophy as Montvale Tire,” he said.
Koles’s retirement plans include spending the winter months in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he and his wife Marjorie own a home in a golf community, puttering in the garden, catching up on home maintenance projects, touring America’s national parks, taking an Alaskan cruise and visiting Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia.
Koles paused and said that he may even consider working past retirement. “Maybe I could mentor young people interested in auto maintenance or how to run a successful business.”
Perhaps most important are his plans to enjoy not only his wife’s company but the company of his daughter Suzanne Reid and her husband Jason and their two children Lucas, 7, and Natalie, 4, and son Scott and his wife Jeanne and their two children Sophie, 10, and Juliana, 8.
Scott lives in Melrose with his family while Suzanne and her family live in Atkinson, N.H.
“I’ll remain busy but concentrate on things I’ve been putting off,” Koles said.
Ells said he and his crew will miss working with Koles, but life does goes on. “Working with Tony was like being part of his family,” said Ells, speaking for his crew. “We enjoyed ourselves, learned a lot and were together as the industry changed. Now, he deserves some time off. We wish him well.”
