Q&A with Best Auto Repair Shop and Best Tire Shop winner Utopia Tire

Why do you think your business was voted the Best of Summit?

It starts with the people. For the first time in the company’s history, all our employees have been here for at least a year, with some for five or more. Over the past three years, we’ve increased wages and benefits and overhauled the culture to create what we believe is the best workplace environment in our industry. This has resulted in a positive experience for our customers. We’ve also invested in modern equipment and customer-facing technology, which has improved turnaround time, communication, and efficiency.

What sets your business apart?

Utopia is unique in the auto industry for several reasons.To start, we were willing to suffer the growing pains of finding positive, empathetic team members who genuinely have the customer’s best interest in mind.When people come to our shop, they know they can take us at our word. Second, we focus heavily on innovation. Our team is constantly creating new solutions that address customer pain points, and although we are far from perfect, we are always striving to be better than last year.

How does your business give back to the community?

Utopia has donated to the local schools; contributed to Summit Advocates, an organization that helps victims of assault; contributed to Summit Community Care Clinic and sponsored Soup for the Soul; and is an active member of the chamber of commerce.

How has your business overcome recent economic, supply chain or staffing challenges?

Staffing was a major challenge for us in 2020-2021. We started by introducing wages that were top of this market, as well as benefits not normally offered in most auto shops, such as 401K with a match, medical and dental insurance, and paid time off. We also host staff events. The most recent was a ping pong tournament where the winning team won tickets to a Broncos game. We faced serious supply chain issues during Covid, which were made worse by the Russia-Ukraine war. Many tire factories were in Russia, especially for winter tires. We pivoted, created new vendor relationships, and placed our winter tire order much earlier than normal. This often came at a cost but was necessary to provide our customers with the quality of tires and parts they expect when shopping at Utopia.

Where do you see your business in five years?

We aspire to acquire a third location within the next three years, granting us the purchasing power to offer even more competitive pricing while simultaneously increasing our capacity to service more customers and vehicles.

720 10 Mile Drive, Frisco, CO 80443 • 970-668-5686 • UtopiaTire.com