This week, we cover a new site from Bubbles Car Wash, a sale and awards.

Bubbles Car Wash first of its kind in Canada

EDMONTON, Alberta — According to www.globalnews.ca, after 40 years and seven previous locations, Bubbles Car Wash decided to make an impact with its eighth one.

“Actually, it’s the first of its kind in Canada. It’s a two-story facility. We have our guest lounge downstairs, our interior service bay, the carwash facility, and upstairs we have our 7,500-square-foot detail super center,” Chief Operating Officer Natasha Toffoli said.

The huge, new carwash is located at 6231 Andrews Loop SW; a ramp lets employees move vehicles from one level to another.

Although the new location was already in the works prior to the pandemic, when it started, the construction was put on pause.

“We really didn’t know what to do at that point. So we kind of sat on it for a few months and felt it out,” said Toffoli.

Bubbles Car Wash has locations in Calgary, Kelowna, Sherwood Park and St. Albert.

“Over the last 40 years, we have been improving the guest experience, renovating, that sort of thing. The focus for us is our guest experience in this one. We have just taken it to a whole other level,” said Toffoli.

RealSource arranges pre-sale of brand-new Caliber Car Wash for $4.06 million

WINTER PARK, Fla. — RealSource Group, a national commercial real estate brokerage company focused on retail, healthcare and automotive properties, announced that the firm arranged the sale of a brand-new construction, single-tenant net lease investment occupied by Caliber Car Wash at 6750 Aloma Ave. in Winter Park, Florida, in an off-market transaction, according to a press release.

The sale price was $4.06 million, which represented a 6.65% cap rate.
RealSource Vice President Austin Blodgett, in association with ParaSell Inc., represented the seller, a developer based in Tampa, Florida.

Jeff Lefko, executive vice president with Hanley Investment Group, represented the buyer, a private investor based in Southern California.

The new Caliber Car Wash — with a 3,000-square-foot building — is located at the signalized intersection of Aloma Ave. and Forsyth Blvd. (with 37,000 cars per day) in Winter Park.

The carwash is situated on a 0.815-acre pad in front of the Aloma Square Shopping Center, which is anchored by Aldi, Ace Hardware, Dollar Tree and Fresenius Kidney Care.

Caliber Car Wash opened on June 1, 2021 and has an absolute, triple-net, 20-year lease.

“We helped secure an all-cash, California-based 1031 exchange buyer who was familiar with the express carwash industry and knew this market very well,” said Blodgett. “We commenced escrow while the carwash was still under construction and went non-contingent months before the carwash opened for business or started paying rent. This sale is a true testament of the high demand for recession- and pandemic-proof investments by savvy net lease investors.”

Winter Park is in Florida’s Orange County and is part of the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area with over 2.6 million people.

The subject property is located in northeast Orlando, about a 25-minute drive from Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World. 

“There is very little competition for an express wash in this immediate trade area, and membership counts are expected to climb quickly in the first year at this location,” Blodgett commented. “We are seeing cap rates continue to drop on these smaller- to mid-sized express carwash chains, especially in tax-free states like Florida and Texas. A year ago, this transaction would have been in the low-7% cap rate range, given this was only a 10-unit operator at the time of sale. We were able to achieve a 6.65% cap rate, which is a strong cap rate for a smaller operator like Caliber Car Wash. More buyers are becoming comfortable with the express carwash business model and are open to taking more risk to buy properties that are leased to smaller operators (but have great real estate fundamentals) in order to achieve a higher return versus a national, top-five carwash operator with 100-plus locations, which would typically trade in the mid- to high-5% cap range.”

Founded in 2019 by Danny York and Mac McCall, Caliber Car Wash is a membership-driven premium, express carwash company with locations throughout the Southeast. 

According to the company’s website, the Atlanta-based company currently has 16 carwash locations in operation and coming soon in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

In January 2021, Eagle Merchant Partners, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, announced its investment in Caliber Car Wash to accelerate its growth.

Ziebart announces annual dealer awards

TROY, Mich. — Ziebart, a leader in vehicle appearance and protection services, announced its annual dealer awards, according to a press release.

Recognizing top franchisee owners, the annual awards celebrate the best of the best in Ziebart dealer achievements across various categories including management, performance and years of service.

This year’s award winners are being honored for their achievements during 2020, a year that brought with it a number of challenges due to COVID-19.

Ziebart’s executive leadership team is recognizing these dealers’ hard work, commitment to service and continued growth during an unprecedented time. 

The award-winning franchise owners and Ziebart staff are as follows: 

• 2020 Dealer(s) of the Year:
  • The Mattiacio Family: Ziebart of Western New York
  • Timothy and Evelyn Shinkle: Ziebart of Warsaw, Indiana
• 2020 New Dealer of the Year: Nicholas Lambie: Ziebart of Morgantown, West Virginia
• 2020 Store Manager of the Year: Vince Shaw: Ziebart of Dearborn, Michigan 
• Service Awards: Recognizing a dealer’s years of service as a Ziebart owner and operator in their local community. The 2020 recipients are as follows: 
  • 50 Years: Ziebart of Illinois (Franklin Park), 1970-2020
  • 35 Years: Ziebart of Indianapolis (Greenwood), 1985-2020
  • 30 Years:
    • The Mattiacio Family, Ziebart of Rochester/Henrietta, New York, 1990-2020
    • The Mattiacio Family, Ziebart of Rochester/Lyell, New York, 1990-2020
    • Larry Sanders, Ziebart of Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1990-2020
  • 25 Years: Richard Curtiss, Ziebart of Jackson, Michigan, 1995-2020

“Ziebart is comprised of talented and passionate franchise owners, and we are fortunate to share our success with such amazing partners,” said Thomas E. Wolfe, president and CEO of Ziebart International Corp. “They have shown tremendous pride in what they do and extreme resilience during a very challenging year. We recognize everything they have done for our company and for the local communities they serve. We know how hard they work every day to make Ziebart even better, and that is something to celebrate.”

To learn more about Ziebart or for information on how to start your own Ziebart franchise, please visit www.ownaziebart.com.