Mister Car Wash plans two new Cedar Rapids locations

Feb. 5, 2019 12:25 pm Updated: Feb. 5, 2019 12:25 pm

One of the largest full-service car wash chains in the nation is planning two new locations in Cedar Rapids.

Mister Car Wash, which has operated a full-service facility at 5055 Northland Ave. NE for about 15 years, is planning car washes near the southeast corner of Edgewood Road and Williams Boulevard SW and at 5620 Edgewood Rd. NE, on the northwest perimeter of the Fountains.

'We are waiting for winter to pass in our Iowa locations before we are able to break ground,” said Megan Everett, director of marketing for Tucson, Ariz.-based Mister Car Wash.

'We expect to begin construction in April, with completion dates five to six months later.”

Everett said the company, which opened a car wash in Des Moines in early 2018, has more than 286 car wash locations and 33 express lube facilities in 21 states.

It was founded in 1969 in Houston and has been adding roughly one new location every other week.

'In the early years of the company, we were primarily growing through acquisition of existing car washes, such as the one in northeast Cedar Rapids,” Everett said. 'In the last two years, we have moved to a green field strategy where we have more new builds.”

Mister Car Wash was purchased in 2007 by ONCAP, a private equity firm, for $52 million. ONCAP sold the company in 2014 to Leonard Green and Partners, another private equity firm, and realized net proceeds of $423 million from the sale.

During the time it owned Mister Car Wash, ONCAP worked with the company's management to grow the business from 39 locations to more than 130.