Staff Reports
The car wash industry continues to expand and innovate with acquisitions, new openings, and renovations. Here’s a roundup of the latest news from around the industry:
Tsunami Express Car Wash, a data-driven car wash platform with more than a dozen locations across Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, recently launched of its newest wash package “T2 with Graphene.’ Graphene is a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms that is 100 times stronger than steel, while also remaining incredibly lightweight and flexible. Applied to vehicles, graphene produces a protective shield that repels water and grime, provides a shinier surface, and enhances paint vibrancy.
A longstanding traffic issue at the Club Car Wash in Washington, Missouri, has reached a resolution, thanks in part to the intervention of the company’s CEO. CEO Roland Bartels became aware of traffic complaints surrounding the location and reached out to city engineer Charles Stankovic and offered make several changes, including more space for vehicles to enter the site and more driveway improvements are planned. Club Car Wash has 200 locations across 12 states.
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CJ’s Car Wash has scheduled a Feb. 13 grand opening of its new state-of-the-art express tunnel wash location in Concordia, Kansas. The site features an advanced onsite water reclamation system, reducing water consumption and benefiting the Concordia community and surrounding areas. It will also include Level 3 DC Fast EV Chargers.
Suzanne Gardiner, general manager of commercial operations in Canada for The Mark Anthony Group, will deliver the welcome keynote address on March 4 as part of the industry dinner at The Convenience U CARWACS Show (Canada’s largest convenience, gas and car wash event) in Toronto. Gardiner has 25 years of leadership experience with major beverage alcohol companies in both the United States and Canada.
An Eclipse Car Wash, which has been under construction for a few years, is finally set to open in Godfrey, Illinois. The location plans to hire around 20 workers. The state-of-the-art facility can accommodate dually trucks, which is rare for a car wash, and has four dedicated lanes with 36 vacuum bays.
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A new Vibe Car Wash location recently opened in Richardson, Texas. The location offers a drive-thru, automated car wash and interior vacuuming services. It also offers monthly plans and gift cards. This is the third Vibe Car Wash location in North Texas. The two other locations are in Plano and McKinney and a fourth location is planned for the Dallas area.
More than seven months after it was damaged when a tornado swept through parts of Greenfield, Iowa, the town’s Super Suds Auto Wash location has reopened. Last May, an EF4 tornado took a mile-long path through the town, damaging or destroying 153 homes, killing four people and injuring 35 others.
A new Spark Car Wash location is set to open in spring 2025 in Stafford, Texas. Construction on the site began in November. The $362,400 project consists of a 4,530-square-foot car wash building on Murphy Road. It plans to offer a tunnel car wash, free vacuums and an unlimited monthly subscription plan.
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Developers of a new Driven Car Wash location in Oak Park, Illinois, have secured a demolition permit to remove the old bank building on the site. The car wash is expected to open sometime this year. Last January, the village board increased the cost of the permit from about $1,500 to $5,000. Driven has locations in Hickory Hills, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows and Des Plaines. In addition to Oak Park, new locations are also coming to Buffalo Grove and Mundelein.
A new Whip Clean Car Wash location will be built in Gaithersburg, Maryland, after its final site plan was approved by the city planning commission. The 11,378 square-foot facility will be in Gaithersburg’s Festival shopping center. In addition to the Gaithersburg site, an additional location in Severn, Md., is also coming soon.
A new Mister Car Wash location recently opened in Duluth, Minnesota. Mister Car Wash is a publicly traded company with 500 locations across 22 states and utilizes a signature product line in its washing services.
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Less than two weeks after a man was found dead from a gunshot wound in the bay of a Marietta, Georgia, car wash, police have made an arrest, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. Robert Baker, 70, was taken into custody on Jan. 13 and charged with murder after investigators linked him to the fatal shooting. He is accused of killing Daniel Lanard Richardson Jr., 59, on Dec. 30.
An attorney representing Washville Car Wash, based in Long Island City, N.Y., formally requested the Woburn (Mass.) City Council for permission to withdraw the company’s special permit application for a new location in the city. Washville has not given up on a Woburn location but withdrew its application based on resident opposition to the current 1.5-acre site which was to house a new three-lane express car wash.
Richmond, Va.-based Car Pool Car Wash, which has five locations, was recently purchased by two longtime employees. Mark Harrison, the company’s chief financial officer, and Tyree Brown, the chief operating officer, are now equal co-owners of the company. The company was founded in 1977.
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A proposal to convert a former Friendly’s restaurant in North Providence, Rhode Island, into a ScrubaDub Car Wash seems to be back on track again now that the appeal filed against it was denied by a Providence/Bristol County Superior Court judge earlier this month. The deferred plans have left the site vacant and dilapidated since it closed in 2019.
The town of Kimball, Nebraska, will see its first automatic car wash open soon. Patriot Car Wash will have a self-wash side and an automatic side. The self-wash side has been open for a few weeks, but the opening date of automatic side isn’t set as it awaits programming to be completed. Planning for the site began five years ago but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is seeking public comment on a car wash site in the New Castle area. DNREC entered into Brownfield Development Agreement with JBS Car Wash due to the possibility of hazardous substances released on the site.
A new car wash is set to make its debut in Forney, Texas, following the recent approval of a construction project. The site, with an estimated cost of $1.8 million and occupying an expansive 8,800 square feet, is expected to begin construction on March 1. The expected completion date is June 30, 2026. The design and engineering will be handled by Triangle Engineering LLC based in Allen.
The city of Lakewood, Colorado, recently clamped down on the opening of any new gas stations and car washes, passing an ordinance that establishes buffers to limit eligible sites. The vote during the city council meeting was 9-0. Lakewood’s move comes ahead of a similar effort by the Denver City Council, which is expected to vote soon on its own proposed restrictions on gas stations.
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A once-neglected property has undergone four months of renovations, now making its debut as a new Stop-Wash-Go Car Wash in Clifton, Colorado., outside of Grand Junction. The new car wash offers self-serve washing bays, with plans to introduce a drive-through automatic wash later this year.
A longtime car wash in Norfolk, Virginia, was damaged by fire on Jan. 20 and forced to close temporarily for remodeling and repairs. SSS Express Car Wash, a full-service car wash and express detailing center in operation since 1961, was engulfed in flames and smoke when safety crews arrived. Cars inside the building were damaged as well. No injuries were reported nor any cause for the fire readily apparent.
The Melbourne (Florida) City Council recently voted 5-2 in favor of the first reading and public hearing of an ordinance granting a conditional use for a new Mister Car Wash location. The Planning and Zoning Board had previously approved the proposal unanimously at their December meeting, subject to several conditions aimed at mitigating noise. The first reading approval moves the matter to the city council’s next public meeting for final consideration.
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Cosmic Express Car Wash will open a new location in Austin, Texas, this fall. The company, which is Austin-based, opened its first location in Sequin, Texas. The new location will debut a prototype building with a mid-century modern design. A tentative opening of the Austin location has been set for September.
Construction is underway for a new BlueWave Express Car Wash location in Victoria, Texas, with a tentative complete date in July. The estimated $1.25 million project is for a new 4,954 square-foot location. BlueWave, based in Texas, has more than 60 active locations and several more in development according to Car Wash Advisory.
A car wash connected to a Shell gas station in North Little Rock, Arkansas, was damaged by fire recently. Fire officials later discovered there had been several unsheltered individuals that had sought refuge in the structure overnight. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The store manager said the car wash has a heater to keep water from freezing.
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Construction will soon be complete on a New Day Car Wash site in Trussville, Alabama, which has scheduled a Feb. 21 grand opening. It is being built at the site of an old Burger King location, which burned down in a fire in 2023. New Day is an environmentally conscious car wash business headquartered in Birmingham. Its first location opened last year in Vestavia Hills.
A new car wash and coffee shop is coming soon to the village of Ripon, Wisconsin. Tentatively scheduled to open in June, Blue Bubble Auto Spa will be a self-service, 1,300-square-foot car wash situated on a 1.9-acre lot. A coffee shop – Big Top Brew – will also be part of the development and will be constructed at the same time, said owner Katie Culver.
Developers behind a proposed self-service car wash secured preliminary approval for the project at a recent Palmer Township (Pennsylvania) supervisors’ meeting. A new Shammy Shine Car Wash location is set to include six wash bays “designed to match the appearance and functionality” of an existing neighboring Shammy Shine, effectively doubling the franchise’s footprint. The existing location, one of 16 across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, features a 100-foot express tunnel, 16 free vacuums, and a wide range of car wash services.
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The AutoSpa Central Washington recently celebrated its grand opening of a new location in East Wenatchee, Washington. The $6 million facility features a 140-foot car wash tunnel as well as three self-service bays and a dozen vacuum hoses.
The Grapevine (Texas) City Council recently denied a zoning change request for a proposed Shammy’s Car Wash location. The zoning change was denied, along with a conditional use permit, during a joint meeting with the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. Council members voted 5-2 to deny the zoning change and permit. After the council vote, the city’s mayor noted Grapevine was “nearly built out” and the zoning change request was not in accordance with the city’s master plan. A similar request was denied in September 2023.
Washworld, a world-leading leading manufacturer of car wash equipment and systems, recently announced it has added My Local Car Wash to its distributor network. Located in Marietta, Georgia, My Local Car Wash will sell and service Washworld vehicle wash systems throughout Georgia and Eastern Tennessee. Washworld manufactures numerous Razor touch-free and Profile soft touch car wash systems.
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