BizBeat: Big O Tires to upstage former theater

Formerly housing Truman 4 Theatres, the property at 1614 Jefferson St. sold in early December. New owners MFA Petroleum plan to build a Big O Tires at the location.
Formerly housing Truman 4 Theatres, the property at 1614 Jefferson St. sold in early December. New owners MFA Petroleum plan to build a Big O Tires at the location.

MFA Petroleum plans to fill a two-and-a-half-year commercial hole in Jefferson City with a new Big O Tires.

MFA purchased the old Truman 4 Theatres property at 1614 Jefferson St. in early December. The building had been for sale since the second-run movie theater ceased operation on June 30, 2013.

The move will bring the existing Big O Tires at 1611 Christy Drive across U.S. 54. That store has been operating since 1999.

"It's been there a long time. It's just getting old and in a state of disrepair," said Melanie Coats, Big O Tires director of marketing.

MFA plans to tear down the existing Truman 4 Theatres building to make way for a brand new Big O Tires facility, with construction beginning around the spring, Coats said.

The Truman 4 Theatres property sold the same week the next-door Truman Hotel & Conference Center closed. Both businesses originally opened under the Ramada brand.