What you need to know about opening locations in multiple states — and countries.

By Mary Lou Jay

In Birmingham, Ala., after setting an opening day for its newly built car wash, Whitecap Car Wash tried to pull a business license and discovered that the city had just passed a moratorium on car washes. Before it could open, Whitecap had to prove the site had been well underway before that vote. 

Expanding into a new state is a logical step for successful car wash companies that want to grow, but it can present some difficulties. Car wash operators are sometimes surprised by differences between states in everything from regulations to customer expectations. 

Whitecap opened its first site in Clarksville, Tenn., in November 2023, and has since launched others in Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina. “The idea was to find really good locations, see how they did and then potentially backfill around those,” said Justin Hendley, COO. 

During this multi-state growth, they’ve come across some pretty interesting situations that have impacted both their timelines and their bottomlines — and learned a thing or two. One suggestion Whitecap CEO Burt Owens shared was to hire a local engineer or architect who is familiar with the location’s unique requirements. That can prepare the operator for unusual, state- or site-specific situations, like a private individual owning a sewer system in Kill Devil Hills that the car wash needed to use. At that location, Whitecap managers also had an unexpected hiccup with the signs when they found out that each individual sign — everything from the car wash menu to disclaimer signs — had to be permitted. 

Links Car Wash, which has acquired 12 sites in Florida since 2023, is aware that its plans to expand into North Carolina will require some differences in operations. 

“North Carolina is very strict about stormwater and how water runs into either a retention or detention pond, and there’s a lot of maintenance and upkeep with those ponds. In contrast, Florida has more relaxed standards in this area,” said company COO Dustin Burroughs. But the Sunshine State is stricter than North Carolina about reclaim holding sites, requiring them to be pumped out quarterly. 

Financial differences

Scenic Suds Car Wash Express’ first car wash opened in 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn., just north of the Georgia state border. Today it operates eight sites in Tennessee and two in Georgia. 

The company has found its multi-state operations fairly easy to manage. “The border here is almost invisible,” said Mike Moon, one of the company’s partners. “A lot of people that work in Chattanooga live in North Georgia, and we have a lot of cross usage between Georgia and Tennessee for many members.” 

There have been a few challenges, however. Georgia has a state income tax, but Tennessee does not. Since employees may work at locations in each state, Scenic Suds had to find a new payroll software that can handle both states’ tax requirements. In addition, the owners formed a management company that leases employees to the car wash. “It really helps streamline the operation,” Moon said. 

Scenic Suds Car Wash Express

The company also had to find a new property insurance and casualty company when the one it continues to use in Tennessee withdrew from Georgia.

Point of sales systems can be problematic, too. When it acquired six locations in Florida, Links Car Wash had to deal with four POS systems, each with different ownership transition processes and a different processing merchant, Burroughs said. In some cases, that meant customers who purchased a membership at one site weren’t able to use it at another. The company has found temporary workarounds and plans to have all locations under the same POS umbrella next year.  

Whitecap has had to educate customers in some areas about its car wash and POS systems, as well — particularly its cashless payment system. “At certain locations, we encounter guests who are hesitant to use a recurring membership payment on a credit or debit card. They prefer the simplicity of paying with cash and completing the transaction on the spot,” Hendley said. The company now offers these customers the opportunity to buy a car wash book that serves a purpose similar to a membership.  

Geographic distinctions

Differences in states’ climates, flora and fauna can impact car washes and their operations, as well.

Super Star Car Wash had to adapt its cadence of sales due to seasonal changes as it grew beyond Arizona into a 105-site operation that includes California, Texas and Colorado. “Arizona and California have temperate climates all year long, so we were able to plan for our sales volume pretty consistently,” said CEO Chad Gretzema. “In markets like Colorado, where there’s more weather variation, we see bigger volumes after a rain or a snow storm because people are anxious to clean their cars. After a bit of time and experience, you can better forecast your sales based on local changes in weather.”

Also, when moving to a new state, car wash operators should be prepared to adapt their car wash chemistry to handle local geographic features such as the dominant soil type, like Georgia’s red clay, or vegetation, such as acidic pollens from coniferous trees or ragweed that can be quite sticky. Customizations should also be anticipated based on various regional insects, such as cicadas, love bugs, mosquitos and mayflies.

Staffing considerations 
Maintaining a common culture can be difficult when staff members are spread throughout different states. Frequent in-person visits from managers, online video chats and daily shared posts from the different branch managers can help provide the connections that encourage shared values and expectations.

Super Star Car Wash invests in developing its team to promote from within for new site manager positions and supports those managers with additional resources. When a new location opens, store opening veterans initially join the site managers to get operations running smoothly. “We really feel that the investment in people has paid off and we are able to make a great first impressions with customers in new sites,” Gretzema said.

The right leadership is critical to a successful expansion strategy. “While the car wash itself is very automated, ultimately people are the engine of the business. It is critical that our Super Star culture, our standards and our approach to the customer experience are able to translate to each new location. That is driven by leadership, so we make sure that we have a pipeline of talented leaders that do an excellent job at transplanting the brand and retaining our culture,” Gretzema said. 

Mint Smartwash, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Operating Across International Borders: Canada

Mint Smartwash opened its first express car wash in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, in 2015. But the ownership team had trouble finding the right spot in Canada for a second location. So they invested in and eventually became full owners of a second Mint Smartwash location in Billings, Mont. Today the company operates seven express washes in Canada and the one in Billings.

Chris Friesen, CEO of Mint Smartwash, admits that the management team didn’t anticipate all the possible differences between operating in the United States and Canada. “To be honest, we thought it would be very similar and quite easy. But when you’re new to a market, you have to really dig in to make sure that you understand the rules of engagement,” Friesen said. “Some things we learned the hard way, other things we were warned about prior to getting there.” 

He said they experienced much less red tape in the United States, but complying with regulations in the United States can be more difficult. Canadian business operations are generally federally regulated, so requirements are similar in all provinces, Friesen said. In the United States, however, everything from labor regulations to environmental standards may vary according to state and local jurisdiction. Plus, because of the differences in regulations between the two countries, the company has to develop separate marketing materials, promotions and contests as well. 

Staff travel between the sites was one of the unexpected challenges. “During COVID, Canadians couldn’t even go to the United States, so we had a relatively new operation in the United States and we couldn’t even go see it,” Friesen said. Since there’s no direct flight from the company’s Calgary headquarters into Montana, travel can be more time consuming, too. “That’s been more of a challenge than the operating part of it, because once you get things set up you’re basically washing cars, and that’s the same here and there.”

It’s also expensive and sometimes difficult to get visas and work permits that enable staff and managers to travel to and work on either side of the border, he said.

Another aspect Friesen did not expect was the perceptions of people on each side of the border. When the Mint Smartwash opened in Billings, people saw them as Canadian outsiders. “We’ve also had issues in Canada because we have a wash in the United States. People thought we were a big American firm coming into Canada, but nothing could be further from the truth. We’re Canadian-based, although we have some U.S. investors,’’ he said. Getting involved in community activities and charities has helped Mint Smartwash gain local acceptance in both countries.

Construction of Tommy's Express Car Wash, Beauvais, France

Operating Across International Borders: France

Sometime in the spring of 2025, the 200-plus Tommy’s Express Car Wash franchise sites in the United States will be joined by a new location in Beauvais, France. The site, 62 miles north of Paris, is located along a busy road, next to a shopping center and a McDonald’s. “This is an ideal location for a car wash and a first proof of concept,” said Pascale Maupin, chairwoman of Impeti Europe, which conducts business for the company in France.

Since express car washes like Tommy’s don’t currently exist in France, Impeti had to convince landowners, local authorities and banks of the project’s potential. Also, it took a long time to find an ideal site because Impeti had to explain and re-explain to real estate agents the very precise criteria required. 

The roof, doors and some floors for a typical design for a Tommy’s site had to be modified to meet European regulatory requirements. The company also had to certify that the steel used for the job came from the United States and not from Russia. Construction was challenging; although it’s easy enough to convert inches to centimeters on a calculator, there is no metric equivalent of a 5-inch screw (12.7 mm), so alternatives had to be found.

Plumbing components from the United States required connectors to work with European plumbing. Electrical components had to be adapted to work in Europe’s 220V, 50 hz electrical systems. Impeti also hired an interpreter to ease communications between English-speaking and French-speaking members of the construction team.

“My best advice if you’re entering a virgin market is to surround yourself with an architectural firm accustomed to working on cross-border projects, to allow for six months extra construction time when compared with the United States and, above all, to set aside a few hundred euros for unforeseen events,” Maupin said.

Maupin advises car wash companies operating outside the United States not to neglect marketing investments, which may be substantial depending on the size of the market and its level of its maturity with regards to car washes. For example, since the French aren’t familiar with the express wash concept, Impeti can’t simply translate existing marketing materials; it works with Tommy’s in the United States to develop marketing campaigns that educate potential customers about the differences an express wash can provide.

Maupin is looking forward to the opening of the Beauvais location and to the potential for opening more. “Once you’ve built the first station, you’ll have learned so much from your mistakes that the next stations will be easy,” she said.