Our Story

Don Foshay's Discount Tire and Alignment has grown to be the largest Cooper Tire dealer in northern New England. This family owned business now employs 75 Mainers, and has earned numerous industry awards for business excellence. But interestingly, the roots of the company were not only in treads, but also in groceries!

Don Foshay Sr, originally from South Portland, began his tire business career at 16 years old working for Yudys Tire while still in High School. He worked there for 16 years before joining Noyes Tire as a territory rep. After a 10 year career with Noyes he left the tire business to open two grocery stores in his hometown of South Portland. In addition to sandwiches and groceries, the stores located in the areas known as Redbank and Sunset Park also sold tires.

The stores prospered, but with the relationships Don had built in the tire industry, and seeing more opportunity in treads than in tomatoes, he opened Summit Tire of New England in 1982.  With a warehouse in Biddeford, first year sales were just under 1 million, and there was no looking back.

A son, Don Jr, also came into the tire field through the grocery business, working with Hannaford Supermarkets/Welby Drug division as a store manager. But the growth of Summit called for his attention, and Don Jr. joined his father in June 1985. Shortly after in 1987, Summit would enter into a strategic partnership with Cooper Tires, setting up the company's first retail store on Route One in South Portland. At the time the store was simply named Don Foshay's Discount Tire, specializing in sales and installation of tires and batteries.

The company continued to grow, both in wholesale and retail sales. Another son, Mike Foshay, joined the business in 1990, and a second retail store opened in Biddeford in 1991. Successive store openings occurred in Brunswick, 1993 and Camden 1999, and in so doing, began to provide extended mechanical services. The company was renamed Don Foshay's Discount Tire and Alignment, providing alignment, brake, exhaust, shock and strut services. In 2001, the original store in South Portland moved down the road to the area known as Cash Corner, with greatly expanded facilities.

In order to provide the very best service, the company invested heavily into state of the art equipment and diagnostic technology. This included the Corghi Artiglio Master Tire Changer, the Hunter GSP 9700 Vibration Analysis machine, and a pure nitrogen tire filling system. More over, Foshay placed higher standards on all of its service providers, with all technicians certified by the Tire Industry Association. The team is rigorously trained to insure your safety.

Don Foshay's Discount Tire and Alignment now has six stores, with the addition of Hallowell in 2008 and Damariscotta in 2010. All stores have been awarded the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence, the highest award given by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. Every store has AAA approved auto care status, and are members of the Better Business Bureau. The company has grown to be the largest Cooper Tire dealer in New England. Plans for additional stores are on the horizon, thus making this truly a success story for a dedicated Maine owned and operated family business.