Photo by Taylor Pardue
“Most of the men who come in here treat us like a candy store,” Debbie Wallace says. “I sit here and watch men come in there and their eyes just light up, and they shop in here like a woman shops for shoes.”
Photo by Taylor Pardue
Debbie Wallace, one of the D’s in D&D Tires and More, says the store offers wheels and tires for any car.
Photo by Taylor Pardue
Elizabeth Bowers poses for a photo with her 203 racecar, proudly sponsored by D&D Tires and More.
Photo by Taylor Pardue
Customers bring their own rides by to showcase D&D Tires and More’s abilities.
Photo by Taylor Pardue
“Most of the men who come in here treat us like a candy store,” Debbie Wallace says. “I sit here and watch men come in there and their eyes just light up, and they shop in here like a woman shops for shoes.”
Photo by Taylor Pardue
Debbie Wallace, one of the D’s in D&D Tires and More, says the store offers wheels and tires for any car.
Photo by Taylor Pardue
Elizabeth Bowers poses for a photo with her 203 racecar, proudly sponsored by D&D Tires and More.
Photo by Taylor Pardue
Customers bring their own rides by to showcase D&D Tires and More’s abilities.
Debbie and and her son Dakota Wallace are used to each other’s company. Debbie raised her two children as a stay at home mom, choosing to home school and spend time with her kids. Now she and her son are going into business together, keeping that sense of family and unity going.
The two celebrated their grand opening Saturday to great fanfar. Free hotdogs, ball caps, and t-shirts awaited shoppers who stopped by between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Many locals stopped by to welcome them to town, including town commissioner Gene Pardue.
The storefront sits at 546 Winston Road in Jonesville, with store hours set at 8:30 a.m. till 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Weekday hours run 9 a.m. till 5:30 p.m., meaning customers interested in buying from the store can find a time throughout the week to come by and check out the deals.
The shop is a labor of love, the first paying job - teaching and being a mom are jobs too -Debbie has had in 24 years. She credits the locals, especially the farmers, with making the business so much fun for her when she comes to work each day. Locals have brought cabbage, squash and other garden-grown grub for Debbie since the doors opened.
She credits them for the store’s early success.
Debbie said the store offers “any tire and any wheel for any car.” Men and women alike poured into the store to check out the selection, but Debbie admits that men are particularly excited about the store’s opening.
“Most of the men who come in here treat us like a candy store,” Debbie Wallace said. “I sit here and watch men come in there and their eyes just light up, and they shop in here like a woman shops for shoes.”
The grand opening is the first time customers have gotten a good look at the store. Prior to the opening Saturday the store sold to car dealers and to business owners. They even had a business located in England buying from them, but had to stop due to poor the poor economic situation in Great Britain.
Many hours have went in behind the scenes to stock the stores, with every major brand of tire and wheel represented in the store’s product listing.
“We’ve been busy, we’ve been putting the hours in, just trying to be part of the community,” Debbie said. Debbie currently lives and has lived in East Bend for 20 years, but previously lived in Rockingham.
Facebook has been buzzing with pictures of the wheels and tires, but the store also offers something Debbie is fond of - flags. A side of the showroom is dedicated to flags and other outdoor decorations. One woman bought roughly half a dozen rugs from D&D before 10 a.m. Saturday.
Her husband has been a wholesale tire dealer for years, having started in the tire business when he was 16. Now 59, he helps advise his wife and son on their business venture.
Dakota was interested in the retail side, Debbie said, which led to the partnership. Debbie’s husband still owns a wholesale company but aids in helping the two make the business a success.
Debbie, Dakota and another employee staff the store, with her husband coming by two to three times a week.
The grand opening was a chance for other local features to showcase themselves.
Elizabeth Bowers, local race car driver at Friendship Motor Speedway and lately at a track in Ararat, Va., brought her 2013 car by for customers to look at. Bowers is now proudly sponsored by D&D Tires, saying the partnership makes sense for both parties.
Bowers said she happened to drive by when she saw the shop coming together and decided to stop in and make the Wallaces a proposition. Currently D&D Tires gives Bowers gas money but will soon begin supplying her with tires as well.
Leonard Buildings also showed up in a big way Saturday. The store will showcase several different styles and models of buildings next to the shop in the parking lot, giving the store an even broader appeal.
Bill Smith, former car salesman at the building and still the owner of the property, leases the shop to Debbie and Dakota.
Debbie said they were looking for a shop location in Winston-Salem, Mocksville and other locations but could not find a space to start the business. Finally they found the vacant shop, and thanks to Smith and Smith’s son the Wallaces were able to work out a lease and get to work.
Smith said the shop was a one-of-a-kind attraction and will make an excellent stop for customers looking for new tires, wheels and other items.
“These are real nice people and I certainly hope the people will come in and do business with them, because we don’t have anything like this in this area,” Smith said. “If they support this business it will be a good-going business.”
For more information check out D&D Tires and More on Facebook. A website is under construction at dndtiresonline.com. Emails can be sent to sales@dndtiresonline.com, or you can do things the old fashioned way and call 336-835-8880.
Or you can stop by and see Debbie and Dakota to see the family-friendly atmosphere firsthand.
To contact Taylor Pardue call 336-835-1513 ext. 15, or email him at tpardue@civitasmedia.com.
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