Auto Repair and Tire Service in the San Francisco Bay Area

About Toscalito Tire & Automotive

Co-founders Ken and Vince were both born in San Francisco and raised in the same neighborhood before becoming business partners in 1971. Ken Toscanini and Vince Ippolito combined their skills, knowledge, enthusiasm, passion for cars, and their names (Toscanini + Ippolito) to create Toscalito Tire & Automotive.

Initially, “the two nice Italian boys” (Ken and Vince), worked together at Shell stations in the Marina and the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco. For years, their stations offered gasoline, auto repair, AAA towing, and car rental to many loyal customers. In 1975, they decided to concentrate on tire sales and auto repair by opening their first Goodyear Tire Store: Lombard Tire & Automotive. Over the years, they opened new shops closer to their homes in Marin: Corte Madera, Ignacio (Novato), Terra Linda (north San Rafael), downtown San Rafael, and then Vallejo.

Ken and Vince liked to describe Toscalito as a family business run by a family for families. They had great pride in seeing all the repeat customers – so many have chosen Toscalito for the past decades and now Toscalito is servicing their children and even grandchildren’s automobiles. Ken and Vince also have many employees that have been with them for over 35 years. As a member of their employees' extended families, Ken and Vince have lost count on the number of weddings, birthdays, christenings, and (unfortunately) funerals that they have attended over the years.

The most difficult and saddest funeral occurred on March 9, 2011, when Toscalito lost one of its founders, Ken Toscanini, after an eleven year battle with cancer. We are extremely saddened by Ken's passing, but vow to carry on his passion for quality and premium customer service.

This is why Toscalito stands out and has thrived for so long: Our staff truly cares and strives to provide car owners with the highest quality customer service, while offering a sense of family and community to customers. It's a level of service and commitment that you can trust. This is how Ken and Vince set up the business and how Vince, now carries on the tradition of delivering a positive, friendly, cost-effective experience. Toscalito is still a Goodyear Tire shop, in addition to offering many other name brands.

Toscalito has always been a proud supporter of local charities and non-profit causes. Through the years, they have supported local schools, the American Red Cross, Feed the Children, and Ambassadors of Hope and Opportunity - an organization that offers help and support to local homeless young adults. Over the past 15 years, Toscalito has been a major contributor to a local organization - that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society's restricted fund for Breast Cancer Education and Research. Giving back to the communities they serve is also part of the passion at Toscalito.