The Spare Tire, owned and operated by Susan Devroy, offers parts and gear for motorcycles, ATVs, dirt bikes and bicycles.
Devroy works hard at offering products at well-below-retail prices.
Devroy is a retired Las Vegas school teacher. She taught inner-city third grade students. Not one to back down from a challenge, she worked hard to help her students ? many of whom lived in difficult homes.
?All those kids spoke perfect English after I was done with them,? Devroy said.
Devroy comes from a business-oriented family and was running a successful business in Henderson when difficult circumstances caused her to lose much of what she worked for. ?I was devastated ? personally, financially,? she said. ?I lost it all, but I did not lose my faith.?
Looking to pick up the pieces, Devroy learned of a job opening at C.O. Bastian High School in Caliente and began working to renew her teaching license so she could apply.
One day she came across a passer-by who looked in need of help and offered him a ride home. When they arrived at his home, she met his caregiver ? an elderly woman who owned retail space and an adjacent apartment in Caliente. The woman offered it to Devroy as a place of residence and suggested the option of opening a store as well.
She didn’t get the job at C.O. Bastian but instead focused on building her business. She believes none of these events were by coincidence.
?I was brought here,? she said.
Devroy, who has seemingly inexhaustible energy, has made it her mission to build a successful business and help the community any way she can. She has made repairs on her building and ?keeps the gutters clean.?
She has worked to network with surrounding automotive businesses and try to enhance those as well. She wishes not to compete with existing businesses but rather offer something new and unique to the community and bring more business to the area.
