Jeff Brown (right) manager of Les Schwab in New and assistant manager Ryan Jones stand behind the front desk in the new store lobby.

NEW ULM — On Wednesday, Les Schwab Tire Center opened its doors for a soft roll out of its newest shop in New Ulm.

The new tire center is located at 1507 U.S. Highway 14 near the roundabout.

Les Swab Tires was founded in 1952 in Oregon, where the headquarters remain to this day. Over the decades the tire centers have been expanding east and have recently begun popping up in Minnesota with shops in Fairmont, Mankato and now New Ulm.

Jeff Brown, manager of New Ulm’s Les Schwab Tire Center said construction of the new shop began nine months ago and is now ready to help customers.

“We’re in the customer service business,” Brown said. “We like to run out and greet customers with a smile when they are still in the parking lot.”

As the name suggests, the tire center focuses on tires, but they handle anything adjacent to tires including brakes, alignments, shocks and struts, batteries and oil changes. The shop can even do custom suspension jobs, raising or lowering a vehicle.

“The idea is to be a one stop shop,” Brown said.

Brown said Les Schwab will schedule service appointments, but they are also set up for sudden vehicle emergencies, such as a flat tire.

Brown said customers coming in with a flat tire are usually not having a great day. It is their goal to make repair process as painless as possible to encourage return service. Schwab will offer some services for free, like rotation, rebalancing and air checks.

The staff at Les Schwab are experts in tires and are always keeping up to date with latest advancements.

Assistant Manager Ryan Jones said there are continual advancements in tires. He said there are tires with tread compounds that increase the lifespan of a tire to 80,000 miles. There are also tires made specifically for electric vehicles.

The New Ulm tire center is a slightly new design from previous Les Schwab shops. Brown said the interior features new signage detailing the history of company as well as computer kiosks allowing customers to browse tire options.

The garage section of the shop has seven vehicle service bays as well as a large service bay for semi trucks.

The New Ulm store will also operate a service truck to go out on calls for vehicles unable to reach the shop.

Brown said the New Ulm shop will work with other Les Schwab Centers. If a customer needs to call in a service truck, whichever Les Schwab shop is closest will respond.

“If you get serviced at our shop, you can also drop in at the Mankato shop,” Brown said.

Jones said as of opening day, the shop has nine full-time staff in addition to himself and manager Brown. The shop plans to hold a grand opening celebration on Friday, March 13.

Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.