BERNARDSVILLE, N.J. — Bernardsville Car Wash sees a wide range of customers and cars frequenting its tunnel for a wash and a wax, according to MyCentralJersey.com.
“You get everything here,” said Michael DiNapoli, co-owner of the carwash along with his two brothers, Bobby and Frank Jr., in the article. “You get somebody who’s a renter and more entry-level with their income. And the in car right behind them could be a multimillionaire.”
Michael reported that a Rolls-Royce recently stopped by for a wash, continued the article, and a week earlier a Ferrari was spotted on-site.
The lot, previously used by a car dealership, auto shop and storage yard, was converted into a carwash in 1967, informed the article, and the property lines and location cause customers to “follow an unusual route between the street and the entrance to the wash tunnel.”
Customers will cross a short bridge over Mine Brook after they pass Bernardsville Car Wash’s three self-serve bays and 11 vacuums on-site, reported the article, and then they follow a U-shaped bend to pay a carwash attendant before crossing another small bridge over the brook to enter the tunnel.
“It’s a bit of an odd layout, sure,” noted Michael in the article.
Frank DiNapoli Sr. bought the carwash in 1984, stated the article, and after he retired to Florida, his sons took over operations.
Carwashing is in the family’s blood, reported the article, and has been a business venture since 1948 when the brothers’ great grandfather, Michael Quadrel, opened a carwash in Montclair.
Using his experience in the rigging business while utilizing repurposed parts from truck drivetrains, continued the article, Quadrel was able to fabricate an automatic wash.
“He figured out a way to build a conveyor to pull cars through the carwash,” stated Michael in the article. “He built one of the first carwashes in New Jersey.”
Today, informed the article, Bernardsville Car Wash has 10 employees including the three brothers.
“In this business, you have to be hands on,” asserted Michael in the article. “You have to be here.”
The spring and winter seasons are the busiest times of the year for the carwash, which is open seven days of the week, reported the article, and although sunny days are better for business, the carwash takes advantage of rainy days to perform routine maintenance on equipment.
When it comes to profit, added the article, approximately 80 percent come from the automatic carwash while the remainder is generated from the detailing center, self-serve bays and vacuums.
The carwash also installed solar panels, noted the article, which generate about a third of the power consumed by the wash.
“We have a lot of high-horsepower electric motors that we use to pull the cars, to wash the cars and dry them,” shared Michael in the article.
You can find the article here.
