Express Wash Concepts opens 17th Michigan wash in Bloomfield Hills
The express operator's latest Clean Express Auto Wash expands its Metro Detroit footprint, with two more Flint-area locations under construction.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
Express Wash Concepts (EWC) has opened a new Clean Express Auto Wash in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, marking its 17th location in the state. The site sits at 40 E. Square Lake Blvd., according to reporting from Auto Laundry News.
The opening continues a steady expansion for the operator, which now runs 142 express car wash locations across a multi-state region that includes Detroit, Flint, Toledo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cincinnati, Greater Dayton, and Hampton Roads. Two additional Michigan sites are currently under construction in the greater Flint area, signaling that the company's push into the region is far from finished.
Metro Detroit remains a focus
EWC has positioned Metro Detroit as a central market in its growth strategy. Founder and CEO John Roush framed the Bloomfield Hills opening as part of a long-term regional commitment, saying the company's goal is to build "Detroit's leading express car wash company." Roush tied that ambition to three priorities: investing in employees, delivering a strong customer experience, and supporting local communities and nonprofit organizations.
The Clean Express brand markets itself as homegrown and locally operated. Its washes feature complimentary professional-grade vacuums and a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee on every wash. The company also promotes an unlimited membership club that lets members wash at any Express Wash Concepts location, giving subscribers access to the full multi-market network rather than a single site.
A network built on membership scale
With 142 locations and counting, EWC operates at a scale where its unlimited club becomes a meaningful competitive tool. Members who can use their plan across nine metro markets gain flexibility that smaller regional chains and single-site independents cannot match. That reach reinforces recurring revenue and gives the company a reason to keep adding sites in existing markets like Michigan, where each new location strengthens the value of an existing membership base.
The emphasis on career opportunities and nonprofit support also reflects a broader positioning strategy common among large express chains, which increasingly lean on community involvement and employee investment to differentiate in crowded markets.
Why it matters for operators
EWC's Michigan buildout is a reminder that large express chains are densifying within markets they already serve, not just entering new ones. For independent operators in Metro Detroit and the greater Flint area, that means more competition for the same drive-by traffic and, more importantly, for unlimited club subscribers. A membership that works across 142 sites is a hard offer to beat with a single location.
Operators facing this kind of expansion should evaluate what keeps customers loyal beyond price. Convenience, free vacuums, and satisfaction guarantees are becoming table stakes rather than differentiators. Independents may need to compete on speed, local relationships, and membership perks that a large chain cannot easily replicate.
The two Flint-area sites under construction also show how these operators telegraph growth in advance. Watching where a competitor is buying land and building can give nearby operators time to sharpen retention efforts before a new wash opens its doors.
