George Frisby, 1932

Jim Frisby

Don Frisby

Frisby Tire Co. was founded in 1920 by my Great Uncle, George Frisby. The company was then known as "Frisby The Vulcanizer" and was located in downtown Ottawa on Lyon Street, which was a dirt road at that time. A Blacksmith was a couple of doors away as shoeing horses was a common activity. The horseless carriage with pneumatic rubber tires was still a rarity on city streets.

Uncle George had spent the previous 5 years working at the Goodyear plant in Akron, Ohio to save the money he needed to launch his new enterprise. With a good solid financial base he built the business and eventually moved to a new location on Sparks Street between Kent and Lyon. The business prospered throughout the roaring 20's and the difficult depression years that followed.

George had no children of his own and after World War II, he hired my father Jim, who would eventually take over the company and guide it for the next forty years.

In 1967, the decision was made to leave the Sparks Street location. Many of the old businesses in the area had already moved to the east or west end of the city. Cabledu Motors, Myers Motors and Campbell Ford were all located downtown in those days, as was the Ottawa Journal and the Ottawa Citizen.

A brand new store was built in Cityview on Clyde Avenue much to Uncle George's chagrin. He felt that it was too far off the beaten track to be successful, however things worked out well and today Clyde Avenue is our flagship store and houses our Head Office.

A second store was opened at the corner of Somerset West and Preston Streets and still serves customers who shopped at the old downtown location.

New locations were added in the 70's and 80's and today we have 5 stores in total with 90 full time employees. The company is owned and operated by the Frisby family. My mother Elizabeth, my two brothers Dennis and Alan and myself make up the ownership group.

Our company motto is the same today as it was in 1920, "Service that Satisfies". We realize that we must continue to please our customers with good service, quality products and competitive pricing.

Frisby Tire Co. is a company with a long and successful past in the Ottawa area and we are proud of that fact. However, the future is here and we are upgrading our facilities, modernizing our computer and communications systems and training our employees to meet the challenges of the new millennium.

Hope to see you soon!

Best regards
Don Frisby, President