Chris Fowler Expands Business with Local Tire & Wheel Chain

Chris Fowler (Steve Lewis)

You probably know about Chris Fowler’s wildly successful past in KFC franchising, but have you followed his more recent pursuits?

In discussing his recent acquisition of Dempsey Bakery in Little Rock, Fowler pointed to his growing chain of automotive stores across the state, Local Tire & Wheel.

Three Friends Investments LLC owns the chain’s five stores, and two more are on the way.

Three Friends, of Jonesboro, is the parent company of Friendly Bakery, the entity created to make the bakery purchase. But its first project was to give “everybody” a chance to meet the road with new, high-quality rubber, Fowler said.

Fowler, former CEO of Fowler Foods and a member of one of northeast Arkansas’ foremost business families, is one of the three friends in the LLC’s title.

Another is its CEO, Jamie Fowler, Chris Fowler’s longtime business associate and, more recently, his wife. The third is Gene Brumley.

“We have five Local Tires & Wheels,” Fowler told Whispers last week. “It’s a company that sells and leases tires and wheels. We have five of those open and two under construction.”

The current locations are in Jonesboro, Jacksonville, Fort Smith, Fayetteville and Rogers. They are now offering a February promotion: four brand-new tires for “just $14 down.”

New locations in Conway and Russellville are under construction.

“We were interested in doing something different,” he said, so he enlisted help from a “rent-to-own expert.”

“We were looking for a business that would allow us to keep our office open and keep some of our people employed that weren’t ready to retire, and that’s what drew us into that business.”