By KAREN SHADE
World Staff Writer
Below: Bob Ritter prices newly
arrived stock at his business, Hubcap Kingdom, at 6578 E. 40th St. The business
sells wheel covers, hub caps, and wheel trims for older and late model
vehicles.
Hubcap Kingdom stocks more than 30,000 hubcaps, wheelcoversThere is a domain, a small kingdom, lying within the center of Tulsa bordered on all sides by stacks and stacks of wheel covers. Bob and Catherine Ritter are the rulers of Hubcap Kingdom, a business they started in February furnishing new and used hubcaps, wheel covers and wheel trims. "I'm a car buff. I've had lots of cars and always messed around with hub caps," Bob said. The kingdom is not the easiest to find. The Ritters' domain, made up of more than 30,000 wheel covers and hubcaps, is found in a warehouse behind an unsuspecting storefront at 6578 E. 40th St.
Walking into
the showroom, patrons note vintage metal wheel covers mounted on the
walls The tank might contend for attention but for the shine of chrome and vintage gear that so easily catches the car enthusiast's eye. Wheel covers and hubcaps are not the same thing, Bob said. Hubcaps are smaller than covers and usually are found on older model autos. They shelter only the nuts and bolts of a wheel, while the larger wheel covers hide everything from the wheel's center to the trim. The Ritters have four children. The youngest is 14, while the eldest is out of school, living in Tulsa. Their children printed a special calendar for their father and gave it to him for Christmas. It shows pictures taken from the days when Bob and his brother picked up abandoned hubcaps along roadsides to sell or trade at flea markets or swap meets. Other pictures show the Ritters' back yard before they opened the store. In one photo, columns of neatly stacked wheel covers and hubcaps hover over narrow paths worn away through careful maneuvering to avoid complete disaster.
Catherine
said she is glad to have a lawn again and that the stock in the back yard
has been moved to the warehouse. Added to those wheel covers are those Bob
purchased from Wheel Cover World when the business on
11th "We say he has oil in his blood," Catherine said. The couple knew it was time to find a store location when customers began to consistently call them at their home. Catherine was a substitute teacher at Union Public Schools, but when the district did not renew her contract for budgetary reasons, she offered to help Bob run the business. The business attracts a varied clientele, she said. "I'd say about 60 percent are male, and 40 percent are female," she said. Their patrons range from teens to the 88-year-old woman who called the business last month looking for wheel covers, Catherine said. "It really is for anyone who has a car these days," Bob said. In the future, Bob said, he would like to move the business into a new building once it has outgrown the warehouse. The business already is growing faster than they expected because of, or in spite of, such a distinct market, Bob said. Bob said he also would like to start a salvage yard as a sideline business. As long as people drive automobiles, there will be a few who want to make cosmetic touches to their ride. The Ritters will be waiting for them.
Karen Shade
437-0150
Hubcap Kingdom |
and some of the couples' best sellers displayed prominently opposite a large
fish aquarium.
Street
between Memorial Drive and Mingo Road closed.