Longtime family tire business sells to new owner

Jeff Helgason, owner of Riley Park Tire in Greenfield, handles a work order in the business’s garage. The 58-year-old business is being sold to an Indianapolis company that promises to keep the name. (Tom Russo | Daily Reporter)

GREENFIELD — As Jim Helgason prepared to open his tire service business in 1963, one of his tasks, of course, was to come up with a name.

“I thought, well, I don’t want ‘Jim’s Tire’ in there, because I don’t want them calling me on Sunday,” he joked.

His answer was right across Main Street at Riley Park, a local landmark that would make the business easy to find and give directions to.

“Most people in Greenfield, they know where the park’s at,” Jim said. “So I called it Riley Park Tire.”

Its decades in business have made it a landmark of its own at 801 E. Main St., where Jim and his son, current owner Jeff Helgason, built a clientele throughout the region, country and world. After another successful…

Read more…