SHELBY — The Shelby Car Wash has new things at 204 N. Gamble St.
New lighting. New free air station. New credit card readers. New bug brush.
And owners — Nate and Katie Crnjak.
The Crnjak’s took ownership of the wash on May 25 and held a grand re-opening on July 9, which included free washes for all in attendance, with optional donations accepted.
“We were so amazed at the support people showed for our event,” said Katie Crnjak.
“We started the first wash at 12:45 p.m. and did a total of 87 automatic washes and 15 self-serve washes,” she said.
All proceeds from the grand-reopening have been donated to the Shelby High School athletic department and marching band.
“We just wanted to give back to the locals as they have made this new venture for us an enjoyable one,” she said.
Nate Crnjak, a Norwalk High School graduate, went to school for mechanical engineering and started North Coast Roofing of Ohio in 2003. He never foresaw it turning into a career.
“For 20 years, I never really stuck any money into my retirement,” he said. “Every nickel I made went into the roofing company.”
Two decades later, North Coast Roofing has two locations, Castalia and Fremont, and Crnjak is ready to start planning investments to help catch up financially.
“I have a lot of catching up to do if I want to retire at a decent age,” he said with a laugh.
Aside from North Coast Roofing and the Shelby Car Wash, the Crnjak’s also own a self-serve and semi-truck wash located at 3912 Tiffin Ave. in Sandusky.
Crnjak said he visited the wash in Shelby, prior to purchase, saw it had newer equipment in it and liked the location.
“It’s (the wash) a really state-of-the-art system,” he said, stressing the importance of upkeep for the wash to remain efficient.
“You’ve got to stay on top of maintenance. If you let one thing break and you put a band aid on it, the next time you go to fix it everything compounds.”
The Crnkjak’s got right to work after taking over ownership.
Completed projects include a total cleaning of the interior and exterior walls, installation of a free air machine for filling tires, upgraded tap or swipe credit card readers, new brush heads in the self-wash bays, as well as new lighting.
With the wash operating 24 hours a day, Crnjak wanted to install new lighting to help customers feel more comfortable and safe when washing their vehicles after dark.
If you drive by the building at night, you’ll see a variety of red, white and blue lights along the trim throughout the month of July, thanks to new wifi-connected light strips controlled by a phone.
“My wife can control the lights with her phone,” he said. “For Valentine’s Day, it’s red, for the month of July it’s red, white and blue.”
Small details matter to the couple, who said they want to create an inviting atmosphere for customers.
“We appreciate all of the support we have received so far and are looking forward to being a part of the community,” she said.
The Shelby Car Wash is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with exceptions for extreme cold temperatures.
Customers can currently act on the wash’s latest deal of 13 premium automatic wash tokens, an $143 value, for $100 during the month of July.
(Do you own and operate a small, start-up business in Shelby or northern Richland County? We would love to hear from you. E-mail Hayden Gray at Hayden@RichlandSource.com and share your story.)