“You want the $20 tire or the $35 tire?” yells Ralph over the roar of traffic. A customer hovering over a flimsy wooden counter reaches for his wallet, lifts his head, and inquires, “What’s the difference?” Hector, who is tinkering with the rim changer and eavesdropping on the exchange, advises Ralph in Spanish before Ralph obliges the customer. “Fifteen dollar,” he deadpans. “I’ll go with the $20 tire,” the customer responds.
in a customized Ford Bronco. Hector, a stocky Puerto Rican man dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit with the sleeves rolled to the shoulders, waves back through the open door, scratches his bushy mustache, and retreats into the jungle of new and used tires, mateless hubcaps, and salvaged rims that makes up the back room.
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Twelve years ago Hector Nieves and his younger brother Anibal bought the building at 1900 W. Division and opened All Day Tire on the first floor, where a grocery used to be. Anibal, who’s vacationing in Puerto Rico this day, helps run the place with Hector but is more involved with managing the apartments. “I’m in charge,” laughs Hector, who at age 40 could still pass for a jack-cranking rookie.
“Three dollar,” Hector informs the driver of the Granada. Pulling a wad of bills from his left breast pocket, which has long served as the shop’s cash register, Hector makes change for a ten and hands it to the customer. Stuffing the bills back into his jumpsuit, he proudly announces, “They’re all in order.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/Armando Villa.
