Family-driven business Pete’s Tire opens in Fort

By Chris Spangler

Like father, like son.

And daughters …

And sons-in-law.

When Pete Brock sold his first tire back in 1975, little did he know the profession would run in the family. 

Forty-seven years later, Pete and his wife, Suzan, own Pete’s Tire Service in Whitewater, where son-in-law Brandon Pattermann oversees the service trucks. 

Their eldest daughter, Rebecca Krebs, and her husband, Mike, own and operate Pete’s Tire in Elkhorn.

And the third Pete’s Tire, which just opened in the former Powers Tire and Auto Service in downtown Fort Atkinson, is owned jointly by Pete, his daughter, Rachel Pattermann, and his son, Jonathan Brock.

“When I started this business, it never occurred to me that my kids would want to be a part of it, but they all do. It’s just a blessing for Suzan and I to have the kids in the business with us,” Pete said.

Humble beginnings

Suzan is a Michigan native and Pete, who grew up on a farm in Gillette, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1975.

“We’ve been in Walworth County for 45 years. That’s how long we’ve been married. We got married and came over here looking for a job,” Suzan recalled. “But I know that at the time of graduating, he never thought he’d be in the tire business here.”

It was in 1975 that Pete started selling Firestone tires at the Consumers Co-op in Elkhorn. In 1986, he was recruited to manage a new Goodyear store in Whitewater.

“When they hired him to manage the Goodyear building, it hadn’t even been built yet,” Suzan said.  “They scouted the county. They wanted to know who their competition was going to be. He already had a reputation for working at the co-op in Elkhorn, so they hired him, and he got to hire everybody he wanted working for him once the store was up and running. From then on, he built his customer base.”

All was well until six years later, when Goodyear brought in its own people and Pete lost his job.

He looked into buying a Goodyear store in Ripon, where the owner was retiring.

“So we put up a ‘for sale’ sign on our house. But we weren’t comfortable leaving Whitewater, and I had been in business for 15 years selling tires and had a good group of customers,” Pete recalled.

The townspeople also did not want Pete to leave. Among them were the folks at Citizens State Bank and Lowell C. Hagen, who had space to rent at his trucking business. 

“I think it was the day we were going to put the for-sale sign in the yard that we got the call from Lowell and the president of the bank saying, ‘We don’t want you leaving. Let’s work something out,’” Suzan said, adding that Pete being fired from Goodyear was a blessing in disguise.

“We know that for sure. We could see God’s hand through the whole thing. Especially in hindsight,” she said.

He signed the papers and then drove to the Eastsider to buy a huge cigar.

“The place was completely empty. I sat in the service bay and I smoked that cigar because I felt pretty good about this. I felt that, ‘hey, this is quite an achievement,’” Pete said.

That was in May of 1992.

“It was a big step. I borrowed $40,000 against the house, and (the shop) was pretty primitive back then. I started out with me, myself and I, sitting in the office with a telephone. Eventually, I hired a guy to run the service truck and I hired a secretary and things started to sprout,” Pete said.

It wasn’t easy, as he had competition from his former employer right up the road.

“Goodyear has 132,000 employees; they’re a big outfit. And everybody said, ‘Pete, you’re not going to have a chance competing against Goodyear. They’re just going to run you out of business,’” Pete said. “But I had a lot of faithful customers that would say, ‘Pete, I don’t need the tires today; maybe I’ll get them six months from now. I’ll pay for them today … like a loan.

“I’m going to start crying in a minute, but that’s exactly how this business started. All the customers rallied around me. It was just a blessing to see,” he added.

After 10 years, Goodyear closed its doors. In fact, it called Pete to see if he was interested in buying the building.

“I just think the Lord gave me this sense inside,” Suzan said. “I knew we’d be back in that building someday. I didn’t know how or when, but we were. It’s truly a miracle.”

Elkhorn acquired

About five years later, the Firestone dealership in Elkhorn where Pete had started his career came up for sale, and the Brocks scooped it up.

“So the two places I worked I bought,” Pete said.

Rebecca and Mike had worked for Pete in Whitewater and then went to Elkhorn to operate that store.

“They outgrew it after five years, so (in 2012) I built a brand-new building across town, across from the Evergreen Golf Course,” Pete said. “It took two years and we had a grand opening, and that was another stogie in my mouth. It was just for the kids; I did it strictly for them. So that took off,” Pete recalled.

And five years later, the Krebses bought the Elkhorn business and building, retaining the name Pete’s Tire.

Fort Atkinson site

Rachel, who is two years younger than Rebecca, also worked for their father in high school. She has been in charge of the books at the Whitewater store, while Brandon was hired a year ago January and oversees the service trucks at the Whitewater shop.

Jonathan has been working with Pete since graduating from high school 15 years ago. He and his wife, Marisabel, the only in-law not involved in the business, have an 8-week-old baby.

Located at 2 Madison Avenue, the former Powers Tire building is owned by Rachel and Jonathan, and Pete’s Tire pays rent. The siblings own 49% of the Fort Atkinson business, while Pete retains 51% for the time being.

“Eventually, Jonathan wants to run the shop here in Whitewater, and probably someday he will. Actually, he does that now … I show up and do things, but as far as the business end of things, he’s in charge,” Pete explained. 

The Brocks have seven grandchildren ranging in age from eight weeks to 18 years.

“Only the Lord knows what they’re going to end up doing. We could have a third generation here,” he said.

Fort Atkinson’s Pete’s Tire opened last week after the building’s exterior was painted; the electrical services, furnace, air conditioning and ceiling were replaced; the floor was repaired; the office was remodeled; and new overhead doors were installed.

The business offers roadside service, new tires, tire repairs, ball joints, tie rods, oil changes, muffler systems and alignments. It also hopes to add engine repair in Fort Atkinson. 

“Fort’s a wonderful city and I’m glad we’re a part of it,” Pete said.

The City of Fort Atkinson awarded its first Capital Catalyst Revolving Loan (CCRL) to Pete’s Tire, which also received a low-interest loan through the Jefferson County Revolving Loan fund.  

The loan funds are designed to stimulate the local economy and encourage the startup and expansion of businesses.

Down the road

Speaking of expansion, the Brocks are anticipating doing just that in the future.

“We looked at some land in the Klement Business Park, but it was just too costly to buy land and put a building up at this time,” Pete said.

“Our long-range goal is … within five to 10 years, we’re probably going to outgrow where we’re at. Then we will build something,” he added.

The Whitewater store services not only light trucks and cars, but also farm, medium commercial, construction and over- and off-the-road vehicles. Eventually, he would like to be able to service semi tractor-trailers in Fort Atkinson, as well.

When that happens, Pete said, the City of Fort Atkinson might be interested in the future of the Madison Avenue site. 

That was confirmed by City Manager Rebecca Houseman- LeMire.

“It is accurate that we do not see the current use —  single-story tire shop/vehicle repair — as the long-term future land use for this property. As indicated in our Comprehensive Plan, this area is ripe for redevelopment in the future and may support a possible mixed-use development project with upper floor housing,” she said.

All about service

So the goal is to eventually have a commercial center in Fort Atkinson.

“But right now, we just want to get our name out in Fort and provide good service. That’s what Pete’s Tire is … good service,” Pete said.

And that means getting all work done the same or next day. 

“I don’t believe in booking things a week out unless the customers want it done next week. But if they want it done today, it’s done today. … We don’t put it off. I always try to put myself in the customers’ shoes,” Pete said. 

Pete noted that Pete’s Tire offers 24-hour service. 

“If somebody has a tire flat at night, they call, and we’ll take the service truck out at night and fix it for them,” he said, noting that Pete’s Tire in Whitewater has a 40-mile service radius, so it already is providing service to Jefferson County.

The Fort Atkinson store also will have a pickup truck with a compressor to respond to tire flats.

All about community

In addition to their tire business, the Brocks are known for their community service.

They have provided the Paul Bunyan-sized pancake and sausage griddles for the Walworth County Dairy Breakfast for 10 to 15 years and the Jefferson County Dairy Breakfast for three or four.

They also used them for events at Faith Community Church in Fort Atkinson.

“When we opened up the Goodyear store, we held a pancake breakfast for the grand opening,” Pete said, noting that the owner offered to sell him the griddles after that.

In addition, the Brocks held a pig roast there that fed 2,000 attendees.

Active at Church on the Rock in Fort Atkinson, the Brocks and Pete’s Tire are regulars in Whitewater’s Fourth of July parade, too.

Great career

Pete said that although he and the children are the face of Pete’s Tire, Suzan has played an important part in their success.

“My wife has been a big supporter of this whole thing. Even though she wasn’t there at the shop, she took care of the family and was always there to help me. I’ve always asked her to do things out of her comfort zone, and she has,” Pete said. 

Suzan passed on the praise.

“We just give God all the credit for all the blessings in our lives. It’s nothing we could have done on our own,” she said.

Pete agreed.

“I have no idea what the future’s going bring,” he noted. “I tell my wife that we’re just blessed beyond ability. I can’t think of anything else that I would want at this minute. It’s just perfect.”

So with their children involved in the three Pete’s Tire locations, what’s in Pete’s future?

“People ask me all the time ‘when will Pete retire?’” Suzan said. “And I say, ‘he re-tires every day.’”

An earlier story about Pete’s Tire and its expansion into Fort Atkinson is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/city-kicks-off-capital-catalyst-loan-program-with-petes-tire/.