Big Chief Tire opened its sixth Jacksonville location, which the company said expands the 64-year-old family-owned auto service company into a new part of the city.
Big Chief Tire, led by President Reed Parman, bought property at 10211 San Jose Blvd. in Mandarin. The site opened June 16 and plans a grand opening event June 27.
Parman said in a news release the Mandarin location had been a competitor’s store for a long time, “but more recently, it didn’t receive the attention it needed.”
The release said the expansion fills a gap in Big Chief’s service map. It said that with five other locations across the city, “Mandarin was the missing link in ensuring convenience for every Jacksonville driver.”
“We want to serve more of Jacksonville,” Parman said. “Frankly, in our industry, convenience is the first step to being able to serve someone, and we can’t serve a community we’re not in. Mandarin is a community we’ve been looking to serve for a long time.”
He said the new location “is about continuing the Big Chief legacy, and doing it the right way.”
“When my great-grandparents opened Big Chief in 1961, I don’t think they could’ve imagined the business would still be open today,” he said.
The release said Big Chief Tire is a fourth-generation tire and automotive service business. It offers tires, oil changes, brake repairs and full-service auto maintenance.
Parman said in an October 2024 Gain Traction Podcast that his great-grandfather was a chief in the Navy.
The first five stores are in Westside, Southside, Northside, Blanding and Orange Park.
Big Chief Properties LLC paid $1.85 million for the 0.67-acre property May 1. The 5,760-square-foot auto service center was built in 1994. It had been a Tire Kingdom.
Big Chief bought the property from Sakina Real Estate LLC of Tarpon Springs.
Barry Goldstein, president of Goldstein Commercial Properties Inc., was the property broker.
The grand opening is scheduled noon to 5 p.m., including tire giveaways, special offers and a live broadcast with 1010XL’s Frank Frangie. A ribbon-cutting will be held at 3:30 p.m.