Big O Tires closes downtown

by David Reed

June 15,2009

            The Big O Tires service station on Broadway next to Walgreen's downtown has closed, and a replacement operation is expected to be constructed in the city's western region.

Rusty Coats, director of operations for the three Big O Tires stores in Columbia, a subsidiary of MFA Oil, said Monday that negotiations to purchase a site for the new store on the western end of Broadway are under way. Big O Tires has two other service stations in Columbia, on Peachtree Drive in the south and on Business Loop 70 in the north.

Big O Tires had been renting the building at 204 E. Broadway for 10 years and the current lease was due to expire on July 15. Coats said the company had concerns about the age of the building and the difficulty for drivers to get in and out of the service station.

The property is owned by Emma Nichols, and there has been a service station on the site for about 50 years.