"Tire City" building poised to begin next chapter

Oct. 5, 2026 – The former Tire City building on Montgomery Street, just south of Victory Drive, has a lot more history behind it than getting your car serviced. The building dates back dates to the 1940s and once housed the Riche Rich Ice Cream Manufacturing Company (it predates the cartoon) that made and operated as a wholesaler of novelty ice cream like ice cream sandwiches, drumsticks, and push-ups.

The new owners plan on getting the building’s past recognized by getting the structure certified as a historic structure by the National Park Service. Then they intend to write its next chapter.

Developer Michael Wakely, whose company was involved in the properties housing Husk and Marbled & Fin, bought it in late 2023 from the original owners’ granddaughters. After buying the property, Wakely said he cleaned up the site, removed the former Tire City awning, repaired the roofs and began work on the windows.

“We actually found a daily sales ledger buried in a desk in an unused part of the building showing they sold (ice cream) to Red Gate Farms, the Pirates’ House, and every confectionary store in town,” Wakely said.

Last week, Wakely submitted some restoration plans for a building shell preparation, HVAC, electrical upgrades, bathroom upgrades, replacement windows and restoration/replacement work on the brick porch. The plans show space for a prep kitchen, cooler/storage area, bar seating and a future dining room.

Currently they don’t have a tenant but intend to put it up for lease as they get closer to having something presentable inside for someone to visualize, Wakely said in a response to an inquiry from Savannah Agenda.

“It would be great for a BBQ restaurant, market of some kind, event space, or a pizza/brewery type facility,” Wakely said.

Wakely said he is working with Robert Ciucevich from Quatrefoil Consulting as the certification consultant and Christina Swenson as the architect to achieve the historic certification – both of them worked with them when they restored the old Elks Lodge at 12 West Oglethorpe where HUSK operates now.

Wakely says he expects the shell to be completed by May 2027, after which a tenant build-out could happen relatively quickly.

If you find value in this website, please consider contributing above or via PayPal @SavAgenda to help cover the costs. You can also send contributions via Venmo @Savannah_Agenda. Your support, no matter how much you give, is appreciated and will help ensure the future viability of this community resource. You can also show your support by subscribing below and sharing Savannah Agenda with others via email or social media. Increasing readership is critical to the long-term success of this site.