O'Brien Tire and Auto Care

Claiming to likely be "the oldest continuously-operated auto garage on Route 66," O'Brien Tire and Auto Care traces its lineage back to the early days of the Great Depression. The business has had at least three different names: Klug and O'Brien, O'Brien Tire and Battery, and O'Brien Tire and Auto Care. On March 17, 1932, Jim O'Brien opened a "gas station and garage in the Village of Nameoki (now part of Granite City). Initially working in partnership with Jake Klug, "who had previously operated a garage on the property," their business "was known as Klug and O'Brien.

When entering the waiting room of O'Brien Tire and Auto Care in Granite City, Illinois, visitors are greeted with Route 66 memorabilia linking the business to the Mother Road. Claiming to likely be "the oldest continuously-operated auto garage on Route 66," O'Brien Tire and Auto Care traces its lineage back to the early days of the Great Depression.¹ The business has had at least three different names: Klug and O'Brien, O'Brien Tire and Battery, and O'Brien Tire and Auto Care. On March 17, 1932, Jim O'Brien opened a "gas station and garage in the Village of Nameoki (now part of Granite City)."² Initially working in partnership with Jake Klug, "who had previously operated a garage on the property," their business "was known as Klug and O'Brien."³ Despite the dangers of opening a business in the midst of the Great Depression, O'Brien managed to sustain his enterprise through a combination of "grit," "determination," and "fair treatment of customers."⁴

Jim O'Brien owned the business for two decades, but in 1952, he was ready to retire. While O'Brien "and his wife, Angeline 'Angie' did not have children of their own," they did raise two "foster sons, Alvin Bruce Marler and Fred “Fritz” Rehagen." Marler had worked in the garage for some time, and he assumed control of the business on January 1, 1953. After selling the business to Marler, the O'Briens "retired to Mountain Home, Arkansas."⁵

Marler ran O'Brien's (known as O'Brien Tire and Battery by 1960) for most of the next two decades. In 1960, O'Brien's was honored for its status as a business that had existed "for at least 25 years under the same name or operated by the same families since [its] beginning."⁶ By 1961, O'Brien's sponsored a local baseball team.⁷ A few years later in 1966, because of Granite City's decision to modify the nearby intersection, the O'Brien service station was demolished.⁸ The business received a building permit from Granite City to build "a new tire store and [install] two gasoline tanks" for the projected cost of $26,000.⁹ When completed, the new building contained "three bays and a sales and display area."¹⁰ In 1951, Earl Buenger had begun working in the garage, and in 1970, when Marler was exploring retirement, "Buenger and his wife Marcia were ready to purchase it."¹¹ Like his foster father, Jim O'Brien, Marler retired to Mountain Home, Arkansas.¹²

After assuming ownership of the garage, Earl and Marcia Buenger strove to further improve the business. In 1974, O'Brien's received a contract from the City Council of Granite City to service the cars of the Granite City Police Department.¹³ They added brand names to their tire inventory, and in 1976, after acquiring a $65,000 building permit, "added a separate building in which to offer a complete line-up of auto care services."¹⁴ In keeping with the actions of their predecessors, the Buengers passed control of the business to younger employees in the garage, in this case, their sons, Mark and Scott. After "Earl and Marcia retired in 1992," Mark and Scott continued the tradition of resilience and improvement that has marked O'Brien's since its opening.¹⁵ When O'Brien's lost "access and parking" on the north side of the property due to the "construction of the Pontoon Road overpass over Nameoki Road in 2008-2010," the brothers "acquired property with an unused building on the south side, razed the old structure, and paved a large parking lot."¹⁶

The Buenger family still owns O'Brien's, and like the previous owners, strive to offer "outstanding customer service and quick turn-around on work." "The garage offers “triple crown” service as an AAA-approved auto repair facility, a NAPA AutoCare Center, and a TechNet AutoCare Center." One area in which the Buengers have departed from their predecessors is in their marketing strategies. Beth Buenger (Scott's wife) "concentrates on branding and marketing the business." But Beth also actively promotes "the business's legacy on Route 66." Indeed, she claims that the business is "likely the oldest continuously-operated auto garage on Route 66." Evidence of Beth's promotional efforts to link O'Brien's with the Mother Road can be found in O'Brien's waiting room, which is "outfitted with Mid-Century Modern furniture complimented by Route 66 décor on the walls and Route 66 publications awaiting perusal." She also hopes that through these efforts, more people in Granite City will come to appreciate their town's relationship with Route 66.¹⁷ Furthermore, the Buenger family has worked hard to ensure their business serves the needs of the local community. Beth stresses that O'Brien's "employ[s] local residents and pay[s] employees industry-competitive wages with benefits."¹⁸ Beyond O'Brien's, the Buengers have supported and participated in many local community events.¹⁹

Yet, O'Brien's is not the only business that the Buenger family owns along Route 66. "[T]heir cousin Paul Buenger is the owner-operator of Paramount Jewelers, known for its vintage neon sign, on Route 66 in Maplewood, Missouri." "And Scott and Beth Buenger's son Ian, the third generation of the Buenger family in the O'Brien business, is also the owner of Obzitian Glass & Art Works on Route 66 in Edwardsville, Illinois."²⁰

^{Research and Written by Tyler Young}

^{Uploaded on behalf of the Madison County Historical Society by Kiley Fuchs}

1^ Cheryl Eichar Jett, "The Legacy of O'Brien Tire and Auto Service Continues," Route 66 Magazine 27, no. 2 (Spring 2020): 810.

2^ Ibid.

3^ Ibid.

4^ Ibid.

5^ Ibid.

6^ "137 Quad-City Firms To Be Honored at May 4 Banquet," Granite City Press-Record, March 31, 1960, https://archive.org/details/GCPR.1960.03.31/page/n7/mode/2up?q=O%27Brien+Auto+Care.

7^ "Park Baseball Results," Granite City Press-Record, July 6, 1961, https://archive.org/details/GCPR.1961.07.06/page/n5/mode/2up?q=O%27Brien+Tire.

8^ "Open Air Business as Usual," Granite City Press-Record, September 15, 1966, https://archive.org/details/GCPR.1966.09.15/page/n27/mode/2up?q=O%27Brien+Auto+Care.

9^ The Granite City Press-Record claims that James O'Brien received the permit. "Drive-In, Tire Store, 3 Duplexes Pace New Building," Granite City Press-Record, July 25, 1966, https://archive.org/details/GCPR.1966.07.25?q=O%27Brien+Auto+Care.

10^ Jett, "The Legacy of O'Brien Tire and Auto Service Continues," 9.

11^ "O'Brien Tire Expansion," Granite City Press-Record, September 16, 1976, https://archive.org/details/GCPR.1976.09.16/page/41/mode/2up?q=O%27Brien+Auto+Care; Jett, "The Legacy of O'Brien Tire and Auto Service Continues," 9.

12^ Jett, "The Legacy of O'Brien Tire and Auto Service Continues," 9.

13^ "GC concerned over rail crossings," Granite City Press-Record, July 22, 1974, https://archive.org/details/GCPR.1974.07.22/page/14/mode/2up?q=O%27Brien+Auto+Care.

14^ "1976 building tops $3.7 million value," Granite City Press-Record, January 10, 1977, https://archive.org/details/GCPR.1977.01.10/page/14/mode/2up?q=O%27Brien+Auto+Care; Jett, "The Legacy of O'Brien Tire and Auto Service Continues," 9.

15^ Jett, "The Legacy of O'Brien Tire and Auto Service Continues," 9.

16^ Ibid.

17^ Ibid.

18^ "The best-kept secret in Granite City," advantage, September 27, 2017, last modified, September 9, 2020, https://www.advantagenews.com/the-best-kept-secret-in-granite-city/article_4bc28b12-b30f-5671-b764-4429142b9a5f.html.

19^ Ibid.

20^ Jett, "The Legacy of O'Brien Tire and Auto Service Continues," 10.