Soapy Joe's gathers 500 team members for appreciation event
The San Diego chain closed out a day at Mission Bay with food trucks, games and giveaways to recognize staff across its 27 locations.
By The Car Wash News Staff
2 min read
Soapy Joe's Car Wash brought more than 500 team members together at De Anza Cove Park on Mission Bay for a company-wide appreciation event, according to reporting from Professional Carwashing & Detailing. The gathering, held Wednesday, June 24, was open to every employee across the family-owned chain's operations.
Soapy Joe's operates 27 locations in San Diego County and continues to expand. The afternoon event was designed to recognize staff for their work and to give colleagues from different sites a chance to connect away from their day-to-day duties.
What the event included
Attendees were treated to food from multiple local food trucks, interactive games and activities, prize giveaways, and swag bags for everyone who came. The company framed the day as a way to celebrate shared successes and let teammates spend time together outside the workplace.
CEO Lorens Attisha tied the event directly to the company's culture, saying, "People are the heart of everything we do." He described the gathering as one way the business shows appreciation to its more than 500 teammates for their work and the service they deliver to customers.
The company positioned the event as part of a broader emphasis on maintaining a positive workplace and investing in the people behind its growth.
Why it matters for operators
Labor remains one of the toughest challenges in the car wash business, where hourly turnover can run high and frontline staff carry much of the customer experience. A multi-site appreciation event is a visible, relatively low-cost retention tool, and it signals to employees that leadership values their contribution beyond a paycheck.
For operators running several locations, an event like this also serves a practical function: it connects staff who rarely interact across sites, builds a shared identity, and reinforces consistency in service standards. Teammates who feel part of a larger organization, rather than isolated at a single tunnel or bay, are often more engaged and more likely to stay.
The takeaway is not that every operator needs to rent a park and book food trucks. The lesson is that deliberate, well-communicated recognition, scaled to the size of the business, can support retention and morale. Even smaller operators can adapt the concept through periodic staff gatherings, on-site recognition, or giveaways that acknowledge the people doing the daily work. In a tight labor market, culture investments like these can differentiate an employer and reduce the cost of constant rehiring and retraining.
