ZIPS marks Kentucky remodels with free washes and membership deals

ZIPS Car Wash is opening its doors for two days of free washes and promotional offers to mark the completion of renovations at three Central Kentucky locations. According to reporting from Professional Carwashing & Detailing, the chain paired customer appreciation events with ribbon cuttings and charitable recognition to draw drivers back to the upgraded sites.

Free washes will be available Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25 at three remodeled locations: 1250 S. Broadway and 1776 Sharkey Way in Lexington, and 104 Osborne Way in Georgetown.

What the renovations included

ZIPS said the three sites received refreshed exteriors, upgraded customer areas and operational improvements intended to speed up visits. The company framed the work as an investment in the customer experience while maintaining the express wash format its members expect.

Alongside the free wash days, ZIPS rolled out a limited-time membership promotion. During the July 24 and 25 event, new and existing ZIPS Unlimited members can add a family vehicle to their membership at no cost by speaking with on-site staff. Doug Miller, vice president of marketing, said the re-opening is the company's way of thanking customers, adding that members who have considered adding a family vehicle should act during the window.

Visitors who stop by during the celebration can also enter in person to win a one-year Premier Car Wash Membership.

Ribbon cuttings and Folds of Honor

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies accompanied the re-openings, including one at the 1250 S. Broadway location with Commerce Lexington and another at the Georgetown site with the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce. As part of its national partnership with Folds of Honor, ZIPS recognized several local scholarship recipients from military families, including four siblings from Berea whose father is a Purple Heart recipient, and a Transylvania University student from Georgetown whose father served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army.

Why it matters for operators

ZIPS is using a remodel completion as a marketing moment rather than simply reopening quietly, and the playbook is worth studying. Free wash days generate traffic and let lapsed or curious drivers see the upgrades firsthand, while the on-site-only membership add-on and giveaway create urgency and reward people for showing up in person. Bundling a promotion into a re-opening turns a maintenance expense into a customer acquisition and retention event.

The family vehicle add-on is a targeted retention tactic. Encouraging existing members to attach a second vehicle deepens the household relationship and raises the cost of ever canceling, since more than one car now depends on the plan. Operators refreshing older sites can borrow the structure: tie a limited window offer to the reopening, involve local chambers of commerce for earned media, and use in-person-only entry to drive foot traffic.

The Folds of Honor tie-in shows how a charitable partnership can anchor a local event with a genuine community story. For independents, aligning a re-opening with a local cause or civic group can generate goodwill and press coverage that paid advertising rarely matches.