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:
Flagship Carwash recently celebrated the grand opening of its newest location in Glen Burnie, Maryland, which features a 48,000-square-foot, fully enclosed, climate-controlled facility that can offer car washes year-round. The new site offers both full-service and express car wash options and has 27 vacuum bays and floor mat washers. Flagship, based in Rockville, Maryland, has more than 30 locations across Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.
Konny’s Car Wash, based in Kaufman, Texas, recently opened its third location at 12302 Elam Road in Balch Springs and features a 120-foot long full NCS (National Carwash Solutions) tunnel. Konny’s also has locations in Kaufman and Mesquite. Konny’s features 3-minute professional washes in an eco-friendly and sustainable operation.
Links Car Wash continues its growth in Florida with the opening of its newest location in Leesburg. Links, which is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is an affiliate of Madison Capital Group and specializes in the acquisition, development and management of express car wash services. To celebrate the site’s opening, Links will offer free car washes on Saturday and Sunday (March 29-30). Other amenities include vacuums, mat cleaners, towels and window cleaners.
Flagstop Car Wash has acquired the Sudzy Malone Car Wash location in Powhatan, Virginia, and it has become Flagstop’s 23rd location. Bob Schrum founded Flagstop Car Wash in 1981 as a car wash, gas station and convenience store. In the 1990s, Flagstop started expanding under the management of Jamie Nester. All of Flagstop’s locations are in the area of Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, and use eco-friendly products.
Tommy’s Express Car Wash will celebrate the grand opening of its newest location in Cape Coral, Florida, this weekend. Free car washes will be available all day on Friday (March 28), as well as a ribbon-cutting ceremony. On Saturday, 50 percent of all proceeds will be donated to the Golden Retriever Rescue of Southwest Florida, a non-profit organization. On Sunday, Rita’s Mobile Ice Cream Dessert Truck will be on hand. Visitors will also have the opportunity to win prizes all weekend.
A new car wash will be coming to Edgerton, Oregon. The city council recently moved forward on rezoning the area the car wash will be located and granted two items that the owners asked for. When weather permits, the group will construct a 60-foot x 61-foot, two-bay car wash at 111 Mill Street, connected to the existing building owned by De Kam (The existing building will remain storage).
One of the Crater Car Wash locations in Medford, Oregon, recently suffered a partial roof collapse, with heavy rain considered the initial probable contributor. The Medford Fire Department responded to the scene and continues to investigate the cause of the collapse. The car wash was unoccupied at the time of the collapse, and no injuries have been reported. Crater Car Wash has four locations, including two in Medford.
Atlanta-based engineering firm Foresite Group recently submitted plans to Orange County (Florida) officials for a Sud Stop Car Wash at 9065 Curry Ford Road. The request for the 3,833-square-foot facility was made on behalf of Orlando Curry Ford Retail Investment LLC, an entity tied to WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments in South Carolina. Sud Stop currently has 11 locations across Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
Splash Car Wash, based in Milford, Connecticut, recently announced the opening of its 67th location in Hamburg, New York. The new wash, outfitted with a 130-foot conveyor and 24 free self-service vacuums, is Splash’s 42nd in New York. The Hamburg location was completed under the direction of Dave Clements and Jeff Arnold, two of Splash’s development partners. They are also managing the construction of a new site in Fayetteville, New York, which is expected to open in the late spring.
PREEN, the leader in AI-driven robotic touchless vehicle cleaning, has appointed Peter Spencer as Business Development Lead. Spencer, formerly Managing Director of Atlantis International and Kärcher Wash Systems, will help expand PREEN’s market presence by forging key partnerships and accelerating adoption of its next-generation cleaning technology. “Peter’s experience in the global car wash industry is second to none,” said Peter Mitteregger, CEO Europe at PREEN. “His leadership will be instrumental as we showcase our robotic AI-powered touchless system to operators looking for the next leap in efficiency, quality, and profitability.”
A new express tunnel car wash, Real Clean Car Wash, will soon open its inaugural location in Hornell, New York. The project was initially to be under the Auto Wash brand by owner Dustin Broderick elected to branch out with his own brand. Real Clean will operate using a conveyor system and utilize hand prepping of every car prior to entering the wash. The location will offer 10 free vacuum stations with compressed air and membership packages for unlimited visits.
The city of Gaithersburg, Maryland, is considering a development proposal by WLR Automotive Group to build an approximately 5,106 square-foot car wash on the site of a former Ziki Japanese Steakhouse. If approved, the existing car wash located adjacent to WLR’s Lube Center would be discontinued and effectively relocated to the Ziki site. WLR first presented the proposal for the car wash in June 2023. The city’s planning commission is expected to decide on a recommendation by April 16.
A Rhode Island Superior Court judge earlier this month issued an opinion upholding the decision of the City of North Providence’s planning board, which granted preliminary approval of a combined master plan by Scrub-A Dub Auto Wash Centers, Inc. and Richkess LLC to build a site on Mineral Springs Avenue. The property, which has been vacant for several years, sits adjacent to an apartment building owned by appellants, who claimed the planning board did not follow proper procedures and failed to significantly address noise concerns.
Demolition crews recently tore down the former Fatz Café building on Overmountain Drive in Elizabethton, Tennessee, to make way for a new RipTide Car Wash. The site had been vacant since the Fatz location closed in August 2023. RipTide plans to build a 6,605-square-foot facility on the 1.8-acre lot which includes 30 vacuum stations. RipTide has approximately 20 sites open or planned in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. The site does not yet have a set date for opening.
The car detailing service industry has become an integral part of the automotive aftercare sector. According to a recent report by Persistence Market Research, the global car detailing service market is set to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1 percent and is expected to reach $5.09 billion by 2031. The demand for detailing services has risen as consumers are increasingly looking to maintain the value of their vehicles, making car detailing services an essential aspect of regular vehicle care.
The Tawas City (Michigan) Planning Commission recently approved a proposed site plan for the construction of an automatic car wash on West Lake Street. The site will include an automatic wash (drive-thru), two manual wash bays and vacuuming stations. The planning commission’s unanimous approval of the site plan was contingent on changes to the parking area, to provide dedicated parking for employees. Construction is slated to begin soon.
Splash Car Wash has started construction on two new express washes in Newburgh and Nanuet in New York and one in Springfield, Massachusetts, with anticipated openings in the fall of 2025. Splash, based in Milford, Connecticut, recently opened its 67th location, including 42 in the state of New York.
Blast Off Car Wash & Detail recently opened in Sugar Land, Texas, in the Riverstone community on University Boulevard. The 7,000 square-foot site, built by Anchor Construction and Management, offers friction, touch free or combo express wash options and utilizes Motor City Wash Works equipment, the NXT Payment System and Euro Vac Vacuums. Detailing, ceramic coatings and interior cleaning are also available.
Buddy Bear Car Wash recently held a grand opening celebration at its newest location in Lyons, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. The site is the 17th for the company which has been in operation for more than 50 years. A commemorative plaque has been displayed at the entrance of the car wash paying tribute to the Metz family, who owned the property for over a century. The first 10,000 car washes at the site are free.
A new car wash is currently under construction at the BP station in Carlsville, Wisconsin, which will include several wash options and a self-cleaning bay. It will be the first car wash in Door County between the towns of Sturgeon Bay and Sister Bay. The site is expected to be completed before Memorial Day weekend and will utilize a high-pressure, low-water system, requiring just 60 gallons of water per vehicle.
A new BlueWave Express Car Wash location recently opened in Harlingen, Texas, the third in the city for the brand. Owned and managed by ClearWater Express Wash, the newest site features fast, eco-friendly, high-quality car washes in minutes. BlueWave currently has about 50 sites open, with the vast majority in Texas. It has another eight locations scheduled to open in the near future.
A busy five-way intersection in Janesville, Wisconsin, that’s closed through the summer has slowed business to the nearby Mr. Splash Car Wash location. A major construction project sits right in front of the site. The car wash, which opened in 2011, has taken to using additional signage, flags and offering free car washes to attract customers to return during the construction.
A recent rockslide in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, recently damaged part of the New Lowery Avenue Car Wash and forced the closure of its newly constructed automatic wash bays for several days. No one was injured during the incident. The car wash structure mostly came out unscathed from the slide and the self-service bays were able to remain open during the cleanup.
As part of the Maryland State Highway Administration’s Georgia Ave. Safety and Accessibility Project in Silver Spring, Maryland, the Montgomery Hills Car Wash has been permanently closed after 51 years in business. Also gone is an adjacent Shell gas station, which was demolished last summer. The project includes lane widening, cycle track construction and dedicated turn lanes.
Club Car Wash recently held a grand opening for its newest state-of-the-art drive-through car wash in Commerce City, Colorado. It marks the third CCW location in the state, with continued expansion planned in Colorado Springs, Lakewood, and Erie. Founded as a family-owned business in 2006 as Tiger Express Wash, CCW now has more than 200 locations across Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Minnesota, Mississippi and Wisconsin.
LUV Car Wash recently announced the acquisition of Future Express Car Wash located in Rohnert Park, California. This latest acquisition further solidifies LUV’s commitment to expanding its footprint in the Santa Rosa market, where the company has four additional sites under contract. “This acquisition allows us to better serve our customers in an area where we’ve seen strong demand and continued customer loyalty,” said J.T. Thomson, Chief Development Officer at LUV Car Wash.
Construction is expected to start this month on Eldorado Parkway in McKinney, Texas, on a new drive-through car wash, Lone Star Shine Car Wash, according to a filing with the state of Texas. The 4,721-square-foot facility is estimated to cost $4.5 million and will also feature outdoor vacuum bays. The site is expected to be completed later this year.
Prestige Car Wash confirmed a recent report in the Worcester (Massachusetts) Business Journal with an announcement it has acquired five Ernie’s Car Wash locations in the Worcester area. Prestige Car Wash currently operates 23 locations statewide with the addition of Ernie’s and is on track to have 34 locations open by the end of the year. “The acquisition of Ernie’s Car Wash locations aligns with our growth goals and allows us to serve our customers in new, convenient areas,” said Tony DeBarros, director of operations at Prestige Car Wash.
A new Watershed Carwash may soon be coming to a location on North Bryant Boulevard in San Angelo, California. The city’s March permits and inspections report has a facility called “WCW San Angelo II Carwash” listed in the Commercial Projects Pending section. The project has an expected cost of $4 million, as per the report. The location remains vacant, but a sign there indicates the future home of a Watershed Carwash location. Watershed has locations in Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona.
The newest location for Soapy Noble Car Wash recently opened in New London, Connecticut. The new site at 442-454 Colman Street replaces an outdated mix of buildings and is now a streamlined, state-of-the-art car wash with improved parking, circulation, and vacuum areas. Solli Engineering of Monroe, Conn., provided surveying, site design, permitting, and geotechnical support from start to finish – including site plan approval from the New London Planning & Zoning Commission.
