Northeast Ohio cities are blocking new car washes. Here’s what’s driving the backlash.

By Michelle Jarboe

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    BROOK PARK, Ohio (WEWS) — Brook Park says it’s drowning in car washes.

Now the Cleveland suburb, which put a moratorium on car-wash projects last year, is making that pause permanent. Late Tuesday, Brook Park’s city council approved zoning language that – without saying it outright – immediately bans new projects.

It’s not the only Northeast Ohio community taking that approach.

Cities are reacting to a wave of car-wash proposals – a boom that started in western and southern states but recently reached the Midwest. Changes in technology, profitability and customer habits are driving huge growth in the once-grubby business.

“The last 10 years, the car wash industry has been on a tear,” said Eric Wulf, CEO of the International Carwash Association.

That’s putting public officials on edge. Parma, Parma Heights and Stow have passed similar law changes to what Brook Park just approved. And other cities are watching.

Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt says his city needs more diverse retail options. “We’ve done this with vape shops,” Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt said of limiting certain uses. “And we’ll continue to look at other types of businesses so that we just don’t landlock ourselves in with one type of business.”

Brook Park’s legislation, introduced May 7, didn’t use the word “ban.” Instead, it capped the number of car washes at one for every 10,000 people.

Do the math, and that’s barely two car washes for a city of 18,000 residents.

But Brook Park already has more than a half-dozen car washes. There are hands-on, old-school shops. Slick new express washes. A laser wash. Car dealerships and gas stations. There’s even a drive-thru car wash and beverage store.

“And that’s in 7.52 square miles,” Orcutt said.

The city’s zoning-code change won’t impact existing businesses. But it will block new ones from opening.

Parma Heights did something similar in February, setting a limit of one car wash for every 12,000 residents. Stow expanded on its moratorium last year.

“It seems like a lot of the car washes are pretty busy, so I don’t know if that’s a viable thing,” Ron Bohnak, a customer at the Sgt. Clean Car Wash in Brook Park, said of barring new construction.

“It seems like more people are getting their car washed now than they ever did,” he said. “More people care about the looks of their vehicles. Vehicles are very expensive today to purchase. So if you keep it looking nice, hopefully you get to keep it for a while.”

More people, indeed Wulf remembers washing the car in the driveway with his dad years ago.

That’s a distant memory.

When the International Carwash Association started tracking consumer trends in the early 2000s, 50% of people said they typically washed their car at home. Now 80% of consumers prefer to visit a car wash.

“We’re more of a do-it-for-me economy than do-it-yourself, in most respects, right?” Wulf said. “Now if I do see someone washing their car in the driveway, it’s almost a novelty.”

Part of that is time and technology. Car washes are much speedier than they used to be. A recent trip through the tunnel at Sgt. Clean took less than three minutes, for $19.

But there’s another big growth driver: A major shift in the business model, from occasional purchases to monthly subscriptions.

Joshua Liuzzo has a membership at Sgt. Clean in Brook Park, which offers unlimited washes starting at $29.97 a month. There are different packages for drivers who want add-on services, like hot wax, triple foam or a tire shine.

“It saves us a lot of money,” said Liuzzo, who works nearby and swings through the car wash every few days. “It’s less than 30 bucks a month. I mean, how can you beat it?”

Those subscriptions take some risk out of the business.

“If the credit card is recharging every 30 days, weather is less important,” Wulf said.

Brian Krusz is the founder of Sgt. Clean Car Wash, a fast-growing company based in Northeast Ohio.

‘Dollops of happiness’ From 2012 to 2022, car-wash revenues more than doubled, from $7 billion to upwards of $16 billion, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Brian Krusz, Sgt. Clean’s founder, said members account for 50% of sales at a typical store. He got into the car-wash business 11 years ago. Now Sgt. Clean, based in Uniontown, has 16 locations and nearly 200 employees.

His Brook Park car wash opened in October, in the middle of the city’s moratorium. It was already approved when the city pumped the brakes on new projects.

“Car washing might not be a glamorous business, but we provide a good service,” said Krusz, a military veteran with experience in banking and the convenience-store industry.

“We get an opportunity to wash thousands of cars on a regular basis and see different people from all walks of life … and just provide dollops of happiness through the course of their day,” he said.

He sees the backlash as a response, in part, to outdated perceptions.

“A lot of things have changed,” Krusz said. “Car washing 11 years ago when we started was, in Northeast Ohio, kind of grungy. Dirty. … But through our journey, we’ve changed the face of car washing. Great men and women, in nice uniforms, smiling, fun-loving and energetic.”

The people behind the scenes have changed, too.

The car-wash sector used to be dominated by mom-and-pop shops. Now it’s attracting big money, including private-equity firms. They’re gravitating to outsize financial returns, sweetened by federal tax incentives for investments in equipment.

A modern car wash costs more than $5 million to build.

“I think we still have that heritage of locally owned, locally operated,” Wulf said. “But certainly you’re seeing all sorts of different folks move into the industry.”

‘That small town feel’ Abby Santos recently visited the Sgt. Clean in Brook Park for the first time. She quickly signed up for a monthly membership.

“I like to wash my car all the time,” she said. “It’s new, and I want to keep her clean.”

Santos doesn’t think cities need to put limits on car washes. Or other businesses, for that matter.

“There’s never too much of anything,” she said, laughing.

Ja’Shon Harris is a customer at the Sgt. Clean Car Wash L. David Colabine/News 5 Ja’Shon Harris is a frequent customer at the Sgt. Clean Car Wash in Brook Park. Ja’Shon Harris, a full-time Uber driver, runs through the car wash twice a day. But he’s not opposed to more regulations.

“I’m a quality over quantity type of person,” he said. “So if we can keep it to where we have the best quality, and not overflood in the market, I think that would be great.”

Orcutt, Brook Park’s mayor, said he’s responding to feedback from residents. The city is trying to appeal to new homeowners and boost median household incomes. It’s also hoping to attract a broader range of stores and restaurants.

“I want to have that small town feel here in Brook Park,” he said. “I’d like to see the butcher shop. I’d like to see the flower shop. The bakery. The hardware store.”

A sign of things to come? Wulf, at the car wash association, said it’s reasonable for cities to look closely at the retail landscape – and even put a temporary hold on new projects. But, he said, “an outright ban seems, for lack of a better definition, a little bit un-American.”

Orcutt took umbrage at that.

“When you’re a mayor, you actually have to listen to all your constituents. … That, to me, is being a great American politician. And somebody that’s doing their job,” he said.

The regulatory fight isn’t over. Northeast Ohio cities are looking to put limits on other types of businesses, from dollar stores and self-storage facilities to short-term rentals and dispensaries.

“It is a concern when cities get into banning … or really regulating heavily a specific business,” said Tony Coyne, a real estate attorney in Cleveland. “It’s a dynamic issue now with land use and zoning.”

And in a region with so many communities – 59 in Cuyahoga County, alone – it’s not uncommon for zoning changes in one city to spread to another. And another.

Just like car washes, apparently.

“Most of these stories have come from Northeast Ohio, or Ohio,” Wulf said of public-sector pushback on the car-wash boom.

“I think you might be right,” he mused. “There could be something in the water.”

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