HOLLAND — Tommy’s Express, a national offshoot of Quality Car Wash, has broken ground on its new headquarters in Holland.
The project will consolidate operations from several existing locations for Tommy’s Express and Tommy Car Wash Systems into a single 100,000-square-foot office and 200,000-square-foot warehouse.
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“The design of the building is intended to show our franchise partners and employees they are the center of our business,” said Tommy’s Express CEO Alex Lemmon. “The space is all about supporting them as they deliver a world-class car wash experience.”
The expansion at Waverly Road and M-40 will create hundreds of new jobs over the next three years, the company said.
“Given the recent growth of our operations, we see an expanded headquarters as a continued commitment to our valuable team members,” said Tommy’s Express President Ryan Essen burg.
The first phase of the project, including the warehouse and production/manufacturing facilities, will take about 12-18 months to complete. The company hopes to break ground on the second phase in 2022.
Quality Car Wash began its 50-year history at 523 W. 17th St. in Holland under the ownership of Julius “Sonny” Essen burg and his brother, Jacob.
Jacob’s granddaughter and Ryan Essen burg’s sister, Mandi Brower, now helms the company, which will retain its headquarters on Lakewood Boulevard in Holland Township.
Tommy Car Wash Systems was launched in the 1990s to supply equipment across the country and around the world. Tommy’s Express was created four years ago when Brower and Essenburg paired the equipment from Tommy Car Wash Systems with the concept from Quality Car Wash. The franchise has more than 50 locations nationwide.
While Tommy’s Express uses the same equipment and layout as Quality Car Wash, the brand name remains the same along the lakeshore. Quality has expanded in its own right over the past two years, opening a new location in Grand Haven and exploring additional locations in Holland Township.
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The company received special-use permission from the Holland Township Planning Commission in January to demolish the former Burger King at 187 N. River Ave. and redevelop the site with an 11,800-square-foot building that houses exterior and interior car wash systems.
The completed facility will replace the company’s existing cleaning operation just down the road at 243 N. River Ave. — but the gas station and convenience store will remain.
“Because the design of two interior cleaning belts is new to Tommy Car Wash Systems, it’s going to take some time for drawings,” Brower said. “It’ll most likely be spring before we start construction there.”
Quality has also purchased the former Pizza Hut property at 2352 N. Park Drive in Holland Township. A special use request has been filed with the planning commission for a vehicle wash facility with detailing, similar to the plan on River Avenue.
The commission will discuss the request during its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3.