Staff Report
Short takes on recent news in the car wash industry:
Tidal Wave Auto Spa announced the opening of two new locations earlier this month, one in Fairfield Township, Ohio, and another in Princeton, West Virginia. Fairfield Township is Tidal Wave’s first express car wash in Ohio, expanding the company’s footprint to 30 states across the U.S.
Express Wash Concepts, among the Top 15 largest car wash companies as ranked by Car Wash Advisory ( Top 100 Car Wash Companies | Car Wash Advisory), announced the grand opening of a third Clean Express Auto Wash in Waterford Township, Mich. The company’s first Detroit location opened in March, and it currently operates 101 express wash locations across Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Dayton, Columbus, Hampton Roads, Va., and Pittsburgh. An additional 35 EWC locations are scheduled to open through 2025, including nine more across Detroit.
Links Car Wash recently acquired Blue Penguin Car Wash, located in Largo, Fla. This marks the company’s seventh location and highlights Links Car Wash’s broadening expansion across the Southeast. The location will see upgrades focused on enhancing the customer experience, including improved wash systems and advanced technology. It also recently held grand openings at its first location in Orlando, Fla., and its first location in Charlotte, N.C.
Club Car Wash, ranked among the Top 10 car wash companies by Car Wash Advisory, opened its 200th location in mid-November, with its latest site in Edwardsville, Ill. It’s the company’s 21st site in Illinois and 26th in the metro area of St. Louis. Club, founded in 2006, currently has locations across 11 states. Club also has plans to build a new location in Appleton, Wisc.
The Rocklin, Calif.-based Quick Quack Car Wash chain recently bought the downtown Sacramento location of Quick Quack from a limited liability company that Quick Quack previously used to buy real estate. The site was reportedly worth $4.3 million. The company also recently opened a new location in Angleton, Texas, which is south of Houston.
Whip Clean Car Wash has requested approval to construct a new 11,378 square-foot automatic car wash facility on Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg, Md. Whip Clean originally submitted plans to the Gaithersburg City Council for a slightly larger building but was asked to submit revised plans based on updated building elevations. Whip clean opened its first location in 12017 in Bowie, Md.
WhiteWater Express Car Wash recently opened its newest location off North Beach Street in Fort Worth, Texas. WhiteWater has 124 locations across six states, including seven in the Fort Worth area. More locations are planned to open by the end of 2025. All locations offer signature services, free vacuums, microfiber towels, mat cleaners and air guns.
Harlingen, Texas, city commissioners, on a 5-1 vote, recently approved a new ordinance preventing new car washes from being built within two miles of each other. As part of the ordinance, new Harlingen car washes must also have a water recycling system. There are currently 21 car washes in the city of Harlingen. Other cities in the Rio Grande Valley area of the state have approved similar restrictions.
Tommy’s Express has broken ground on its newest location in Odessa, Texas, which is expected to open in the fall of 2025. The company’s signature wash tunnels feature floor-to-ceiling windows along the tunnel length and a transparent roof. Tommy’s, based in Holland, Mich., is ranked by Car Wash Advisory as the fifth largest car wash company in the United States with nearly 280 locations.
The Newark (Del.) City Council recently approved a special use permit for a new Dash In convenience store and its accompanying Splash In car wash. Splash In, founded in 2007, has more than 50 locations across Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia that offer soft-touch automatic car washes and express tunnel car washes. About 40 of the locations are connected to Dash In convenience stores. Splash In and Dash In are subsidiaries of The Wills Group, a family-owned and operated business founded in 1926.
Hoffman Car Wash, based in the Capital Region of upstate New York, has expanded into neighboring Vermont with the opening of its newest location in Bennington, Vt. The company now has 28 locations throughout the Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, Southern Adirondacks, Binghamton, and now Bennington. Hoffman, founded in 1965 in Colonie, N.Y., offers a variety of car wash services, including exterior washes, interior cleans, and detailing.
Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Mister Car Wash, Inc. by 341.4 percent during the third quarter of 2024, according to the company’s most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Blueshift, a New Jersey-based hedge fund manager founded in September 2017, purchased an additional 121,035 shares of Mister Car Wash during the period. Mister Car Wash, founded in 1969, is ranked by Car Wash Advisory as the largest car wash company in the United States with more than 500 locations.
Raceway Car Wash recently announced the acquisition of Marvel Car Wash in Flower Mound, Texas. This acquisition marks Raceway’s fourth expansion in Texas in recent months and solidifies its growing footprint in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, bringing the company’s total area locations to six. The newly acquired express car wash will be rebranded as Raceway Car Wash. Raceway now owns and operates 44 locations across the Southwest, spanning Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and California.
Big Dan’s Car Wash has opened its newest location in Fountain Inn, S.C. The Big Dan’s brand, launched in December 2020, has 24 locations in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama and its corporate headquarters located in Rome, Ga. Big Dan’s utilizes soft-touch neo glide technology with high-pressure water jets, top-of-the-line chemicals, and soft, durable foam material to deliver washes safer for cars and the environment.
The California city of Arroyo Grande is making more room for tourists with its planning commission giving unanimous approval to build a car wash and hotel on a 1.57-acre vacant lot. The site is composed of three separate parcels zoned as highway mixed use. The car wash would operate independently on the other side of the hotel, with a car wash tunnel and exit into a self-service vacuum area with 18 parking spots.
“Super Santa Saturday” returns to Super Star Car Wash in Peoria, Ariz., for the second consecutive year with a visit from Santa Claus and free holiday photos and gifts for kids. No purchase is necessary to take part in the event, scheduled for Dec. 21. There will also be refreshments, and each child will get a wrapped gift, that includes a Super Star coloring book and crayons, a Mr. Super Star doll, a mini-Coca-Cola polar bear, stickers and a candy cane. Super Star currently has more than 100 locations in Arizona, California, Colorado and Texas.
