Mechanic Street Tire

Mechanic Street Tire is the successor to a tire recycling business that was started in 1955 by H Eugene “Gene” Robbins. At that time, the business was located at the George Warner Farm on Feathers Creek Road. Tires were picked up from various garages throughout the county and delivered to a reclaiming plant in Buffalo. In the fall of 1973, with $280 Gene started selling, repairing, and wholesaling tires from the small garage to the east of his house. In 1978, the business moved into the building located behind Gene’s house. He traded cars and tractors to pay for materials and labor for the new building. At first, people ordered tires, but as time went on more tire companies wanted their tires sold there. Stock expanded which created better prices for the customers which allowed for the purchase of a spin balancer and more automotive parts.  Their service area stretched from Fillmore to Genesee, PA and Cuba to Hornell. With the I-86 expressway (formerly Route 17) and the Allegany County Fairgrounds nearby, Mechanic Street Tire has served some interesting people such as NFL and NBA players, Joie Chitwood, Roy Clark, government officials, and even midget-car racers. Eventually ownership shifted to Gene’s wife, Jackie.  Their son Mike started as a full-time employee in 1992. Around 2010, after Mike took a full-time bus mechanic position at Genesee Valley School, the business was closed.