AquaShine Express targets 12th wash in fast-growing Winter Haven market
The QC Capital Group brand will open its second Winter Haven site on Dec. 4, extending a Southeast portfolio that pairs express washes with quick-lube centers.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
AquaShine Express, the express carwash brand run by QC Capital Group LLC, plans to open its 12th location on Friday, Dec. 4, at 6990 Eloise Loop in Winter Haven, Florida. The opening adds to a portfolio that currently spans 11 active express wash sites across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, according to reporting from Professional Carwashing & Detailing.
The new stand-alone wash will be the company's second in Winter Haven, following a grand opening in the city this past August. Both Winter Haven sites were developed, owned and built by QC Capital itself, reflecting the operator-led approach the company says drives its growth.
Betting on a high-growth metro
QC Capital pointed to local demographics as a key reason for returning to Winter Haven. The Lakeland-Winter Haven metro ranked fourth nationally for percentage population growth between 2024 and 2025 using U.S. Census Bureau figures, and Polk County's population is projected to top 1 million residents by 2030.
To mark the opening, AquaShine Express will offer free washes to every customer from Nov. 9 through Dec. 6. Hiring and training for the site is already under way, led by Chris Stevens, vice president of operations for AquaShine Express and Cruz Express Oil, who oversees operations across all of the platform's locations.
Founder and CEO Chris Salerno tied the pace of expansion to disciplined underwriting. "We grow when the operations, the team and the site economics all say the same thing," he said. Stevens said the company carried forward lessons from the first Winter Haven site into the new build.
Pairing washes with quick-lube
The expansion is part of a broader car care platform that combines AquaShine Express washes with Cruz Express Oil quick-lube centers. QC Capital moved into the quick-lube segment with the Cruz Express Oil brand, announced in September, with rebranded sites now operating in Duluth and Alpharetta, Georgia.
That dual-service model gives the company more than one revenue stream per market and lets it leverage shared operational oversight across washing and lube services. Hiring for the 12th wash will ramp up ahead of the December opening.
Why it matters for operators
AquaShine Express is clustering sites in markets it already knows rather than chasing scattered single locations, and its decision to open a second Winter Haven wash shows how density can pay off when a metro is growing quickly. Operators evaluating new sites can take note of the company's stated discipline: it builds when operations, staffing and site economics all line up, not simply when real estate becomes available.
The long promotional window, nearly a month of free washes before paid operations begin, is an aggressive customer-acquisition play. Free wash periods build membership funnels and local awareness, but they also require sufficient staffing and throughput capacity to handle heavy early volume without degrading the experience. The quick-lube pairing is worth watching too, as combining complementary car care services under one platform can spread fixed costs and deepen customer relationships in a single trade area.
