Location: Vancouver, Washington
Shop size: 2 bays and a carwash tunnel
Staff size: 10 on the oil change side and 10 for the car wash
Happy Together
When the owner of a Havoline xpress Lube in the Vancouver/Salmon Creek area was looking to sell, Oilstop stepped in. Scott Hempy, CEO of Oilstop, explains that they met the shop’s former operator through Oilstop’s oil supplier, Chevron. After the introduction was made and the transaction was completed, an Oilstop and Happy’s Car Wash opened on the site in December 2022.
“We remodeled it, so it’s very similar to our standard Oilstop layout and process,” Hempy says. “Two bays with a full basement underneath with catwalks for our lube techs to move between the two vehicles that they’re working on. Upstairs, we have the guests wait in their vehicle.”
As for the car wash component, the Happy’s Car Wash brand was launched about two years ago by Oilstop. At this location, it’s a 90-foot-long conveyor tunnel.
Fresh New Look
The remodel was a chance to make the 2,100 square foot building truly shine.
“We've been working for several years to refine our kind of remodel and rebrand strategy,” Hempy says. “We love to find buildings like this one that are kind of the old two or three bay almost box-looking buildings … what we try to do is really freshen that up.”
White paint was added to the exterior with Oilstop blue added toward the top of the building to help make it “pop off the street,” in Hempy’s words. The inside got attention as well.
“We rip out anything that’s on the floors. We’ve been putting in a nice bright clean white epoxy floor with a little bit of speckling,” Hempy says.
Additionally, there were new bay doors added to drive home the notion of adding freshness into the space.
Great Commentary
Hempy says feedback has been positive for this location. Comment cards from customers reveal that they enjoy the energy of the staff as well as the physical building itself.
“We’ve gotten several comments about how it feels like a new building,” Hempy says. “It feels like we tore it down and rebuilt even though we used the same walls and the same structure.”
The team is appreciative of the building’s design, which is something that Hempy says Oilstop always tries to be intentional about at each of their locations.
“We’re pretty thoughtful about where each piece goes to try and make it, from a working in the store standpoint, a really seamless (and) easy store to work in so everything’s where you need it right when you need it,” Hempy says.
