Candy and Ice Cream
Toce Brothers really did begin with brothers, four of them - Louis, Dominic, Frank and Joseph. Selling tires and
servicing equipment fleets was not their first entree into the business world, however. Actually they started with
candy and ice cream.
But the brothers had their eyes on a more expansive business.  "The age of automobile was beginning, and my
brothers thought that would be a good business to get into," she said.
The brothers and sister Lena, who was a silent partner, became commercial property owners.  They began by
storing cars for people over the winter.  They had their first building erected at 137 East Main Street, just a quarter
mile from the ice cream store.
The storage involved removing the airless tires and hoisting the cars on jacks.  Occasionally, tires on these cars
needed replacement, and the brothers began to keep an inventory. At first the inventory was mainly for cars but the
brothers quickly found that their broadest and most lucrative market was selling and repairing tires for commercial
vehicles.
Tires Always a Mainstay
In addition to the tires, the brothers sold gasoline from 1924 to 1960 and assumed a General Motors truck
dealership from 1927 to 1968.  The Toces were always willing to try whatever looked like it might work, but always,
as it is today, the mainstay of their business has been selling and servicing tires.
The original founders have all passed away. Joseph and his cousin, Dominic, Jr.("Sonny") picked up the torch.
The company has expanded beyond its original brick storefront and garage to several buildings and warehouses
in the immediate vicinity.  It sells every kind of tire - from four-inch tires for handcarts to loader tires so big that a
man can comfortably stand in one.  Their fleet of 10 trucks travel throughout Connecticut, New York,
Massachusetts and Vermont, servicing more than 600 customers who need new tires, recapping and repairing, or
emergency tire replacement.
By Jacqueline Weaver
Jacqueline Weaver is a regular contributor to the New York Times.