Market Street Tire to transform into corporate Firestone outlet

Mechanic Chip Paris wipes his forehead on his sleeve after finish a brake job at Market Street Tire & Auto on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business is preparing to close for 6-8 weeks before returning as a corporate Firestone Tire location.

By Tim Omarzu November 12, 2015 4 min read

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Market Street Tire to transform into corporate Firestone outlet

Mechanic Chip Paris looks through a tool chest while working on a vehicle at Market Street Tire & Auto on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business is preparing to close for 6-8 weeks before returning as a corporate Firestone Tire location.

Mechanics Chip Paris, left, and Travis Brown sit in the shop between jobs at Market Street Tire & Auto on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business is preparing to close for 6-8 weeks before returning as a corporate Firestone Tire location.

Manager Randy Keith takes a sales call from the front desk at Market Street Tire & Auto on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business is preparing to close for 6-8 weeks before returning as a corporate Firestone Tire location.

Stephanie Keith holds the shop dog, Moe, at Market Street Tire & Auto on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business is preparing to close for 6-8 weeks before returning as a corporate Firestone Tire location.

A thank you note from a customer is displayed on the wall at Market Street Tire & Auto on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business is preparing to close for 6-8 weeks before returning as a corporate Firestone Tire location.

Mechanic Travis Brown reattaches a brake disc at Market Street Tire & Auto on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The business is preparing to close for 6-8 weeks before returning as a corporate Firestone Tire location.

Idealism, not hard-nosed commerce, inspired Krue Brock to buy Market Street Tire & Auto in downtown Chattanooga.

He's got a lot of freedom. Most people think that it's Randy's shop.

Market Street Tire & Auto in downtown Chattanooga is due to change hands Wednesday and become a corporate Bridgestone/Firestone outlet.

It’s a milestone for the business, which isn’t an ordinary auto service shop – think of it more as community service.

That’s what Krue Brock had in mind when he bought the shop in 2000 – to help boost the Southside where his family, which includes two U.S. senators, launched its fortune 110 years ago with the Brock Candy Co.

Idealism, not hard-nosed commerce, inspired Brock.