First Les Schwab Tire Center location opens in Cheyenne

Mar. 7—CHEYENNE — Oregon-based Les Schwab Tires opened its first Cheyenne location on Dell Range on Wednesday.

The facility will have six service bays and anticipates serving more retail customers than residential.

"The community of Cheyenne has been wanting us to come there," said Les Schwab Area Manager Jimmy Samdal. "The store is placed in a great retail area. It's going to be primarily retail stores; we'll have retail and commercial stores. More of a focus on your commercial traffic, your semi-trucks and industrial type of traffic."

"Especially when it comes time to get those winter tires on or off, we've got really strong capacity there," said Greg Waring, chief marketing officer for Les Schwab. "It's our most modern design."

Samdal, who oversees 29 stores across Colorado and Wyoming, said he hopes the new location will become involved in the community, as his other locations have.

The company was founded in 1952 by Les Schwab, who was also a rancher. Samdal said that the tire centers make an effort to continue to support this passion by being involved in the local 4-H clubs.

"We would generally always participate in the fair auctions, and we encourage the youth to bring in flyers and let us know who they are so we can support them when they go to auction their animal off after spending the time and energy and discipline to raise it," Samdal said.

The company first opened in Wyoming in 2019. In 2021, Les Schwab purchased the nine Plains Tire locations across the state, including one in Laramie which Samdal helped transition and now oversees. In Wyoming, he oversees five of the state's 10 locations, including the one in Cheyenne. Today, the company operates at 555 locations across 10 states.

There are no current plans for expansion in Wyoming, but Samdal said they are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Cheyenne Store Manager Emanuel Aguilar has been with the company since 2012 and transferred from a location in Oregon to manage the newest location. Both he and the assistant manager were promoted from within the company.

The new location will employ 12 people, including the two managers, and will host a grand opening celebration in May.

"Our customers count on us to look them in the eye, shake their hands and do what we say we'll do," Aguilar said in a news release. "We know we can make a positive difference for the people of Cheyenne. And our commitment to service extends beyond customers. We're also dedicated to supporting our employees and communities, and we look forward to doing that here in Cheyenne."

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Noah Zahn is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government/business reporter. He can be reached at 307-633-3128 or nzahn@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on X @NoahZahnn.