Thirteen Bruce Scher’s Goodyear Tire and Automotive Service shops in Southern Nevada closed their doors today, putting 81 automotive technicians out of work.
A company spokesman said the closure occurred as a result of the death of founder Bruce Scher, a Southern California entrepreneur who built a franchise with more than 30 stores, including nine in Las Vegas, three in North Las Vegas and one in Henderson, since 1981.
Richard Warburton, vice president of the company based in Riverside, Calif., said several technicians were retained to complete work on cars in shops, and local employees were paid through the week.
Scher, a native of Santa Ana, Calif., opened his first shop, a four-bay facility, in Artesia, Calif.
Scher also operated a vineyard in Murrieta, Calif., bottling Cabernet Sauvignon wines under the Villa La Cresta label. He also had a 40-acre orchard of avocado trees, supplying fruit to Southern California markets and restaurants.
A representative of Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber said the Scher stores were independently operated retail outlets, and Goodyear wouldn’t have a say in what happens to the Southern Nevada locations.