Yorktown Tire Auto Care has been part of Ryan Froats’ life since childhood. Decades after his grandfather and father built the family business, Froats is now its third-generation owner, balancing the shop’s longstanding community ties with changes aimed at modernizing its operations.
On Oct. 14, Assemblyman Matt Slater, who nominated the business, presented an Assembly proclamation recognizing Yorktown Tire Auto Care’s more than 55 years in business and its inclusion in New York state’s Historic Business Preservation Registry. The shop is the fourth Yorktown business to receive the designation.
The recognition was personal for Slater, who grew up with Froats and his siblings.
“I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand the pride this family takes in serving our community,” Slater said. “Today, Ryan carries on the legacy his grandfather and father built as the third-generation owner of Yorktown Tire Auto Care. That kind of family tradition, hard work, and commitment to your neighbors is exactly what makes Yorktown such a special place to call home.”
Slater said “small, family-owned businesses,” like Yorktown Tire Auto Care, “are the backbone of our local economy, but more importantly, they are part of the heart and soul of our community.”
Established by New York state in 2020, the Historic Business Preservation Registry recognizes businesses that have operated for at least 50 years and contributed to the history, heritage and identity of their communities.
For Froats, the shop’s history is inseparable from his own.
Some of his earliest memories are of spending time at the shop, whether accompanying his father on days he stayed home from school, exploring the tire inventory downstairs or hanging around the office and getting to know the employees.
All four siblings — Froats, his two older sisters and younger brother — worked at the shop at some point, including during summer breaks.
“My parents were both workers,” he said. “I learned by doing what they did as opposed to doing what they say.”
His father, who had operated the business since 1985, built its reputation over decades of serving local residents. The shop began primarily as a tire business before expanding into full-service auto repair, broadening the services it could offer customers.
Froats took a less direct route into the family business. After graduating from Endicott College in 2010, he worked for about 12 years in advertising, including positions with News Corp, The New York Times and Quartz.
The experience gave him a different perspective on running a business, particularly the importance of customer experience. He began considering a transition into the shop as his parents approached retirement.
Froats took over in 2022, initially working alongside his father before his father stepped away in early 2023.
The transition required a steep learning curve. Froats had not worked as an automotive technician or service writer, and employees had decades of experience in the shop.
His approach was to learn the business from the ground up, putting in long hours and listening to the people who knew it best.
One of his first major changes was introducing cloud-based shop management software, replacing a largely handwritten system. The technology streamlined repair orders, parts ordering and other daily operations, reducing the time needed to prepare an average repair order from about 32 minutes to eight.
But Froats said efficiency is only part of the equation. He wants customers to understand what their vehicles need without feeling pressured into unnecessary repairs.
“The most important quality or trait that I look for in anybody — a technician, service writer and general manager — is integrity, honesty, and accountability,” he said.
That approach reflects his understanding of the shop’s place in a close-knit community, where customers might include former teachers, longtime friends and neighbors who have known his family for years.
Froats takes that responsibility seriously. He said the shop’s technicians and staff are “instrumental” in carrying its mission forward and maintaining the customer service that has kept customers coming back.
“It’s more than a job. It’s their safety,” he said. “I care very deeply about everything the experience has to do with.”
Now living in Pleasantville with his wife, Banoo, their two young daughters, Zara and Lila, and their miniature goldendoodle, Fred, Froats hopes to build on the business his family established. He is considering acquiring another local auto repair shop and applying the systems he has developed to modernize its operations while maintaining its community ties.
He also hopes his daughters will grow up understanding the value of hard work, family and community — the same lessons he learned by watching his parents.
For Froats, preserving the family business means respecting what came before while continuing to find ways to make it better.
“I have a responsibility to fill —big shoes to fill — that my grandfather first started, passed down to my father,” he said. “Our reputation in this community is really, really so strong.”
He cited Yelp and Google reviews as being “as close to perfect” as they could be.
“I carry a lot of that as stress,” he said. “I try to really deliver — go above and beyond for people.”
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