Editor's note: This story was originally posted with an incorrect first name for Derrick Borecky. Hutch Post regrets the error.
NICK GOSNELL and RICK KRAUS
Hutch Post
SOUTH HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Tom & Dan's Tire Service is the Market South Hutch Business of the Month. They do more than their name implies.
"We do a lot more than tires," said Derrick Borecky with the shop. "We work on front ends, alignments, brakes, struts, all that kind of stuff, but we do mainly focus on tires."
This is a family business, like so many in South Hutch are.
"We always try to give back," Borecky said. "Community is everything to us here. This was my dad's shop. Borecky's my last name, but Tom Swafford is my stepdad. He's the owner of this place. Really, I'm second generation here. He did a lot of my raising. I attribute my whole life to him, to be honest. Everything I have, I can thank to him. My son is 14, he'll come over to the shop. He really wants to be a part of it when he gets old enough. My wife Sarah runs the front and my dog, Burton, runs the show."
Tom Swafford worked for Cooper Tire and he wanted to go into business for himself 23 years ago. That attitude continues into the next generation.
"He wanted to make South Hutch his home," Borecky said. "He put his shop here. We grew up a few blocks away. Now, he lives just a few miles south of town, still here in South Hutch, still local. I guess tires was always his passion and growing up around it, it became mine. It's what I saw. It's what I learned. Mechanics has always been in my wheelhouse. My family's always grown up on the racetrack. We've always been around cars. That's why we always try to support the races and do what we can there."
It's about being honest and hardworking and giving value to customers for the trust they have put into Tom and Dan's over the years.
"If you come through with something that we can fix, I'm going to be honest and we're going to fix it," Borecky said. "But, if it's something that's over our head or it's too deep, I'm going to be honest with you there, too, I'm going to say, hey, let's take this someplace else and have someone else work on it. I'm not just going to sit there and take your money."
It's rewarding for Borecky, for sure.
"This is the kind of job where you feel like a hero," Borecky said. "People pull in off the road, they're like, hey, I blew out a tire, can you help me? You feel like you're tossing on a cape to go out and help them. You almost get a little emotional thinking about it, sometimes."
From brand new drivers to people who can't do the physical work any more, Tom and Dan's takes pride in helping, even if it's to add air to a tire for free. It really is costing a lot more for the oil that goes into an oil change. Their goal is not to make it cost-prohibitive, but they have to pay for the oil and for their employees time. Also, they have tires on hand, but where they are getting them from has changed.
Tom & Dan's Tire Service is running a special right now where if you get four new tires, alignment is half off. They are open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Call them at (620) 664-5152.