At Fairfield Tire, a new generation carries on family tradition of excellence

Keith and Janice Hyde have run Fairfield Tire for 35 years, slightly longer than Josh Hyde, their son, has been alive. Now 34, he’s been on payroll since he was about 12.

Plenty has changed about the car repair industry over those years. Almost everything has gotten more expensive. Some elements like radio panels and mirrors have been replaced with electronic substitutes using cameras and touch screens. The shop has stopped using a service truck, and started handling more volume after growing from four bays to seven.

And plenty has changed about Josh Hyde, as well. Now 34, and a partial owner of the independent repair shop, he said he was proud to keep the business in the family for another generation.

“It’s been around just as long as I have,” he said. “It’s a point of pride. Nobody wants to go to a non-independent shop. It’s not the same service, it’s not the same people. And that’s something that, being here this long, you pretty well know every customer that walks in the door.”

After the recent return of his parents from a trip abroad, Hyde jokes that he successfully kept the shop from burning down. That’s not to say he expects to operate without them long-term any time soon, but it does give the two a chance to get away when they need to.

In the meantime, Josh said he’d come to appreciate the sheer variety of the work that’s kept him busy for over half his life.

“I like that it’s something different every day,” he said. “We’re not a dealership, so the cars I get to work on could be anything from a $100,000 Audi to an old Toyota. I get a little bit of everything.”