Recovery Spotlight: Pumpelly Tire

by Stefanie Powers

The double whammy of the pandemic followed by the hurricanes of 2020 hit SWLA businesses hard. Pumpelly Tire, with locations in Lake Charles and Sulphur, was no exception.

“Like everyone, COVID had a big impact on our business,” says Company Spokesperson, Claire Pumpelly. “Fewer people traveling to and from work meant fewer cars on the road and, consequently, less tire and engine degradation. Still, we were able to remain open and provide necessary services, from a safe distance, to keep everyone’s vehicles up and running.”

Hurricanes Laura and Delta added insult to injury. The Lake Charles location received significant damage from the hurricanes throughout the interior and exterior of the building. “The roof was leaking throughout the store, the bay doors were ripped out, and many of our electrical components were compromised,” Pumpelly says.

“The team worked hard to clear out utility power lines that fell in front of the store and clean up debris from the surrounding businesses and infrastructure that either fell onto or landed on our property,” she says. “They also had to clear out an inch of water in our showroom by using buckets or vacuums. We purchased large generators for each location that enabled us to regain power and operate our equipment to work on cars.”

Pumpelly says they’re proud to claim that, despite the damage to the Lake Charles store, they were one of the first tire and auto shops in the area to reopen. “It was important to us to continue serving the community by getting people back on the road so they could continue their own repair efforts,” she says. “During that first week, we were repairing customers’ cars free of charge.”

Fortunately, in contrast to the Lake Charles location, the Sulphur store mainly experienced cosmetic damages and was also able to open shortly after both hurricanes.

As time went on, it became evident that the Lake Charles building needed an overhaul. The showroom was completely renovated from floor to ceiling with all new furniture.  “I wanted to create a more modern, comfortable waiting area for our customers,” Pumpelly says. “Now, customers can enjoy a complimentary beverage and take advantage of our new tables and charging stations if they’d like to get some work done while their car is being serviced. We offer complimentary shuttles for those that prefer to wait off-site, a 24-hour drop-box if a customer needs to drop off their vehicles after hours, and, recently, we’ve started offering full-service fleet management for local businesses.”

Pumpelly says they were able to remain open throughout the remodel. “We’re fortunate enough to have a building that allowed us to move the sales team and waiting area to the middle section of the building, so we had to redirect customers to a side door while we renovated the showroom.” The business held their grand re-opening in May of this year.

In addition to selling tires, they have full-time mechanics at both locations who are trained to work on everything from state-of-the-art wheel alignments and suspension/front end services to batteries, brakes, and routine auto services and fluids.

“We’ve always offered ancillary auto services, but we initially began primarily as a tire-focused business,” Pumpelly says. “Our auto services capabilities have expanded over time; these days, we’re closer to a 50/50 tire business and auto services business.”

Pumpelly Tire has been serving the community for over 50 years. They are located at 3406 Ryan Street, Lake Charles (337) 477-9850 and 1500 Ruth St., Sulphur (337) 527-6355. Check them out at www.pumpelly.com and find them on Facebook.