Stock Tire keeps rolling with new owner

A longtime Cloquet business has a new owner with a familiar face.

Scott Nelson purchased Stock Tire from his boss, Steve Stavang, in August. Nelson had worked as a mechanic there for four years and is still doing plenty of hands-on work - he just added lots of other tasks to his list of duties.

Nelson hadn't planned to buy the business. He actually gave two weeks' notice thinking he should do more paint and body work - his side gig in Carlton - when Stavang asked him if he'd thought about buying Stock Tire.

"He made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Nelson said.

Stock Tire is now Stock Tire & Repair, with an equal emphasis on "repair," Nelson said.

It's not the first time the business has changed.

Former Cloquet mayor Walter Stock started the business at 1309 Avenue B as a car dealership in the 1960s, but quickly shifted to selling tires, with some repairs. He even sold Ski-Doo snowmobiles for a time.

"I remember going in there with my dad when I was a kid, about 1968, and we bought a snowmobile," Stavang said.

Little did he know he'd own the tire store someday.

Stavang's dad, Jerry Stavang, and his uncle, Dwayne Johnson, purchased the tire store from Dale Beckwith - who bought it from Stock in 1975 - in October 1985. Steve bought his uncle out of the business less than six months later. It was a father-and-son operation until Steve bought his dad's share in 2007.

"I did that so he could retire," Steve said. "Then I owned it by myself until August 2, when I sold it to Scott."

Running a small business for 38 years was a lot of work and a lot of hours, with little time off, but Stavang said the customers kept him going.

"Good employees and great customers, that's the key to any small business," Stavang said. "I was there so long because I had great customers. I want to thank them."

Nelson is hoping to keep those loyal customers moving forward. The other staff members - two to three mechanics and three people on tires - are all still there too, plus Stavang still pops in a couple times a week as they continue to transition. The former owner's goal is to spend a whole week at home, but he has yet to accomplish that.

Nelson is eager to do more repairs and brings a wide range of experience to the business, starting with working at his grandfather's Dodge dealership in Two Harbors.

"I've worked at dealerships and independents from Two Harbors to the Twin Cities, and I had my own shop in Georgia," he said. "I've got a lot of training with Ford, GM and Chrysler. I can rebuild carburetors. I've done body work and mechanic work. I enjoy it all."

He hopes those who think of Stock as a good place to buy or align tires keep coming, but also come in for work on other things, from diagnostics to timing belts to radiators, water pumps and fuel injection service.

Nelson said he focuses on people, process and pricing.

"I put people before money," he said. "Grandpa instilled in me that honesty is the only policy. You make a mistake, you own up to it."