Tommy's Express adds second Anchorage site with 10-day free wash promo
The franchise's newest DeBarr Road location opens with free washes from July 31 through August 9 and full express tunnel amenities.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
Tommy's Express is opening a second location in Anchorage, Alaska, at 4301 DeBarr Road, and is marking the debut with a 10-day free wash promotion running from Friday, July 31, through Sunday, August 9. According to reporting from the International Carwash Association, the site is locally owned and operated under the franchise banner.
The new build carries the brand's recognizable architecture and equipment, including large bay windows that let waiting customers watch vehicles travel through the tunnel. The wash runs on a dual-belt conveyor built to handle a range of vehicle types, and the company says a full wash is completed in under three minutes.
What the site offers
Beyond the tunnel, the location includes free self-serve interior vacuum stations and mat washers. Customers can enroll in the TommyClub Unlimited Wash Membership through the brand's mobile app. The membership uses license plate recognition to allow automatic entry and gives members a choice of four wash package tiers at different price points.
Tommy's Express traces its roots to Quality Car Wash, founded in 1969 by Jacob, Sonny, and Tom Essenburg. The buildings and equipment, originally developed by Tommy Car Wash Systems, are manufactured in West Michigan. The company provides franchisees with training, marketing, technical support, and access to proprietary wash products and technology. Entrepreneur Magazine ranks the brand first in the car wash category on its Franchise 500 list.
Why it matters for operators
The free wash grand opening is a well-worn playbook, but it remains effective for a reason: a multi-day free period drives high vehicle counts, builds local awareness fast, and creates a captured audience for membership signups. Operators watching Tommy's Express should note the structure here. A 10-day window is long enough to establish habit and give staff time to work the conversion pitch, while license plate recognition removes friction from repeat visits during and after the promotion.
The second Anchorage site also signals continued confidence in a market that is geographically isolated and often overlooked by national chains. Alaska's climate, with road grime, sand, and winter salt, supports strong wash demand, and a second location suggests the first performed well enough to justify further investment. For independents in similar smaller or remote markets, that is a reminder that express tunnel economics can work outside dense metro corridors.
The amenity package is worth studying as a competitive benchmark. Free vacuums and mat washers are now table stakes at many express sites, and a sub-three-minute wash time paired with four membership tiers reflects the standard operators are increasingly measured against. Independents competing near a Tommy's Express opening should expect a membership push during the free period and plan retention offers of their own to hold existing members through the promotional window.
