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Kaufman’s: The go-to-place for an oil change, brake job, or wheel alignment
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If you’ve ever availed yourself of any of the services provided by Kaufman’s OK Tire in Driggs, then you probably know what it’s like to be treated fairly by one of Teton Valley’s busiest merchants. Jerry Kaufman, owner and operator, will ensure this is the case.
While we chat for this piece, a man sporting a T-shirt from B-Side Records in Madison, Wisconsin, walks into the shop very concerned about his rotors. Jerry explains the price difference between getting new rotors and having the existing ones turned. They agree upon a price threshold for new equipment—if new rotors are more than thirty dollars, turn the rotors he already has. After the owner of the warped rotors leaves, I watch as Jerry gives instruction to a member of his shop team, detailing the agreement. There will be no billing surprises when the job is done.
OK Tire specializes in brakes, shocks, struts, and alignments. The shop is outfitted with the latest computerized alignment equipment, a fact Jerry is proud to share. His team performs full-service oil changes, as well. And, of course, they will outfit your vehicle with a set of snow tires for the snowy, sometimes icy Teton Valley winters.
When asked the question “siped or studded?” Jerry emphatically endorses siping. Almost 90 percent of OK Tire’s customers request siped tires over studded. “People that move here think they gotta have studs,” Jerry says. “After they have lived here for about a year, usually they will come back and try siped. Personally, I won’t run on studs. My wife has been driving Teton Pass for about eighteen or twenty years. I’ve tried everything on her car. I’ve even tried siped and studs. You know? Stud the outside, sipe the center. I still go back to straight siped.”
In operation for thirty-one years, Jerry sees the bulk of his business occurring in early to late fall, depending on the weather. “I sell so many sets of snow tires that I have no idea what the number is,” he admits. A former residential contractor, he started in tires thinking it would be a decent business for year-round work. It took him three or four years before he was so busy that he had to drop his contracting business to focus on keeping valley residents safely rolling. Starting with a two-man crew in 1978, Jerry currently supervises a staff of six full-time employees.
The Kaufman family has made its mark throughout the valley. One of Jerry’s brothers built fences here, while another was in local road construction. There are Kaufmans still farming in Alta, where Jerry was raised. A descendant of cheese makers from Switzerland who settled in Teton Valley in the early 1900s, he was born in 1946. “I’m older than dirt,” he confirms. Jerry has seen some of the world, thanks to time spent in the U.S. Army, and he has also traveled to places like Jamaica and Cancun on business and pleasure (related to work he accomplished with the Farm Bureau). Ultimately, though, he says he’d rather stick close to home....(Continued)
