Allen Tire Ltd. is celebrating a major milestone this year, marking 40 years of doing business in Bellefontaine and aiming to treat its customers as friends first.
Owner David Pfoff said this anniversary has been made extra special after the family-owned business received nationwide recognition in the early months of 2025 — being named a K&M Tire Top Shop finalist out of 20,000 dealers in 31 states across the country.
Pfoff and his two employees, his daughter Emily Dolph and 21-year employee Wes Hurley, found out about the honor during January at the K&M Tire’s annual trade show in Columbus. Allen Tire Ltd. was named among three Top Shops for 2025 by Tire Review Magazine, and will be featured in the magazine this spring.
“To say that we’re honored is an understatement. Allen Tire would not be where it is today with out our community of Logan County, and the hard work and effort of David Pfoff and Wes Hurley,” the family said in a recent Facebook post about the award.
“Forty years of hard work and still striving for perfection every day. Thank you to everyone who has and continues to support our small business.”
Pfoff said his father, Lee, started Allen Tire when David was just 6 years old, at first operating out of his garage and growing the business from there.
Established in 1971, Lee operated Allen Tire in Lima, and then David relocated the business to Bellefontaine in 1985, first moving into a space occupied by the former Marathon gas station near its current 700 Garfield Ave. facility. The gas station’s history dated all the way back to about 1918, Pfoff noted.
Allen Tire moved to its current location in 1991, and remains a smaller operation there with two bays, focusing solely on tire service and repair, which sets it apart from other dealers.
The business was nominated by representatives with K&M Tires, with its volume of tire sales and ability to perform niche/specialty tire services particularly of note. Pfoff related that Allen Tire has attained one of the largest volume of sales for Bridgestone tires among smaller K&M Tire shops.
“I’ve seen a lot of other shops try to do everything, but they’re not actually good at anything — they end up spreading themselves too thin,” he explained in the Tire Review article.
“I realized I could make a lot more money just working on tires. That allowed us to get jobs done faster and focus solely on what we’re good at.”
Pfoff and Hurley’s tire expertise expands beyond just passenger and light truck vehicles, as they have worked on lawn and garden, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycle and antique vehicles. They also regularly service the tires from a local air school’s fleet of vehicles and worked with the local historical society to install two front tires for a pre-1910 airplane that is currently on display at the museum.
Dolph joined the family business about three years ago, after spending four years working for K&M Tire. She is a 2018 Ohio Northern University graduate, who studied business management and marketing, and has taken on roles in sales, accounting, data operations and anything else her father needs a hand with, including starting the business’ Facebook page. She also helped out at the shop back when she was in high school.
The original founder of Allen Tire, Lee, is now 83 years old and resides in Ada, his son noted. David credits much of the family business’ longevity to a focus on customer care, faith and family values.
“After being in business for so long, you make relationships with countless loyal customers,” he said in the Tire Review article. “We put the customers first, from doing small acts like offering free air for tires, to helping someone as quickly as we can with a flat tire, even if all of our bays are full.”
Integrity and a dedication to Christian values are held strongly by Pfoff and his employees as guiding principles for the business.
“We were brought up that way,” he said in the magazine article. “We try to do the best possible job for our customers, and that’s rooted in our faith.”
Allen Tire is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to noon Friday. To schedule an appointment for service, call (937) 593-4274.
