With its mantra “best wash every time,” the new premium, express vehicle wash Blue Falls Car Wash in Mentor has arrived

By Patricia Nugent

Lake County’s newest car wash—Blue Falls—opens this month just in time to save us from the havoc snow, sleet and road salt can wreak on our cars and trucks.

I recently sat down with Sam Jakabcic, who has worked at the company the past 27 years and is group business unit leader, and Jesse Noblit, who is district sales manager for Blue Falls, to get a feeling for what makes them different from all the rest. It turns out the answer is a lot.

“We saw an opportunity to bring our premium level of car wash to this area,” says Jesse, who lives in Mentor. “People are already familiar with how we approach car care and customer service, since there’s a Conrad’s location just down the street.”

The first thing you notice about Blue Falls is that it’s extremely clean and modern-looking. As Sam says, “We sell clean so it’s important to always look clean.”

No More Waiting
“Our system is designed with speed and efficiency in mind,” says Sam. “We have the capacity to wash more than 100 cars per hour and the time they spend in the 130-foot tunnel on a conveyor belt is three minutes. Something else that sets us apart is being able to accommodate trucks and low-clearance vehicles that most other car washes cannot handle.”

Packages Protect Your Finish
There are four levels of monthly unlimited packages, starting with the Deluxe Wash for $21.99, the Premium Wash for $29.99, the Ultimate for $39.99 and the Works for $46.99. If you get more than two washes per month, you’ve already paid for the membership.

Our Works wash is our best wash we offer. It combines everything in the ultimate package and the clear coat sealant is replaced with our hydrophobic ceramic sealant with the goal of repelling dirt and debris to keep your car cleaner longer after you leave the wash.

“Though we do offer single-visit pricing, the majority of our customers like the convenience and savings of the unlimited packages,” says Jesse.

Let’s Talk Technology, Water Reclamation
Blue Falls taps into advanced, closed-foam cell technology with its suspended Neoglide cloths that repel dirt and produce the least amount of friction.

(In full disclosure, the day I interviewed Sam and Jesse, they offered me a free car wash. How could I say no? The super speedy glide through the tunnel more than lived up to the hype. My car was gleaming with that just-off-the-lot look it hasn’t had in years.)

The eco-friendly system is also designed with water reclamation in mind.

“Most of the water we use is reclaimed, treated and reused wherever possible,” says Sam. “We only use 30 gallons of water during a single wash, compared to about 100 gallons of water you’d use washing your car in the driveway.”

Keeping your ride’s interior pristine is also important to the Blue Falls powers that be, so they offer 14 high-powered vacuums (free of charge) as well as a carpet mat washer to clean your carpeted mats, great for this time of year when salt and snow are an issue.

“At the end of the day, we appreciate that a car is usually the second largest investment people will make after their home,” adds Jesse. “People are keeping their cars longer, and it means the world to us that they put their trust in our level of care to protect their investment over the long haul.”

A Nod to Family Roots
Blue Falls Car Wash is the newest player in a well-established family of businesses in Northeast Ohio. It began in 1969 with the first location of its sister company, Conrad’s Tire Express and Total Car Care, in Parma. Today there are 37 Conrad’s locations, and five other sister companies that employ 500 people throughout the region.

What began as a values-driven, local-centric, family-run business, remains so today. Founder Ed Conrad always said his reason for starting growing businesses in Northeast Ohio was “to help feed as many families as possible.”

Ed hired John Turk to manage the growth of the businesses in 1986. Now John’s son Eric is CEO and president, and Ed’s son Bob remains a spokesperson and chairman of the board for the company.

The new Mentor location of Blue Falls Car Wash is at 5786 Heisley Road. Other locations are in Parma, North Olmsted, Strongsville, Amherst, North Ridgeville and Cuyahoga Falls. And coming soon are locations in Stow, Willoughby, Mentor and Jackson. Call 216-399-2299 or visit BlueFallsCarWash.com for more information.