I went to the 4th/Main car wash today...and once again they did a stellar job on my car
I also spoke w/ the owner Silas Jones...it is obvious that business is slower than they had hoped..while SPAR may have fought the car wash every step of the way, if it fails now, it will because of a lack of business.
I encourage everyone who cares about Springfield and/or the urban core to patronize the car wash.
Sigh.
More life is needed on Main.
Without it, the car wash will die.
Main Street = Pain Street
It seems as Main street has been the part of the urban core that has been hard to bring life back to. weve already given it a face lift, and its still kinda dead. Betta than it used to be though. I also think that the way the carwash faces is a factor. If the front of the car wash was facing Main, you would be able to see it better. If I didnt know it was there, I would drive right past it.
Quote from: iloveionia on May 30, 2011, 10:14:31 PM
Sigh.
More life is needed on Main.
Without it, the car wash will die.
not sure I agree....car washes don't require pedestrian activity and density...just good patronage
Quote from: duvaldude08 on May 31, 2011, 12:58:57 AM
It seems as Main street has been the part of the urban core that has been hard to bring life back to. weve already given it a face lift, and its still kinda dead.
Add streetcar, jump back and watch what happens. Every business on Florida's East Coast that thinks they will benefit from a true 1919 atmosphere will be knocking on those doors. OCKLAWAHA
What kind of signage does the car wash have?
Tokk the wifes car last weekend, talked to Mr Jones and let him know that not everyone in the hood is against him. His team did a great job on Mrs Dannos' ride. Everyone there was very friendly. Gonna take mine in this weekend.
S-I-L, a car wash manager, attributes the low car wash business to high gas prices.
Quote from: Overstreet on May 31, 2011, 08:32:14 AM
S-I-L, a car wash manager, attributes the low car wash business to high gas prices.
Lol. I blame el niño! This place was never going to do well. It's a eyesore, you can't even tell it's there, it blends in with the abondoned buildings on that side of main. Although the street got a facelift some of the businesses need one also. I think I've seen about ten people at this carwash the 50 times I've past it. The carwash has no chance of surviving. Ciao ciao carwash!
Haha. I love how you track my every move on MJ. I'm sure you get a little email everytime I write something. You just thought this carwash was going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread and reality check it's not. I am not affiliated with Spar Stephen. Ive never been to a meeting or really care what they think. So no I didn't hire a cop to shoot that felon who was caring a gun.
I'm sorry Stephen I don't see the color aspect here, maybe it's just that I see everyone as equals. But I'm sure your right, everyone at spar was scared because it was a non white person opening a car wash. Who owns CityKids again? Does spar like their business or do they try and kick them out too?
Well I do read MJ Stephen. You must bring Spar up at least once a day. For something you hate so much it sure does take up a lot of your time.
My first guess. Piss people off! Or maybe piss the wrong person off (stephen) so that person can write articles about how they disagree with the organization. Lol! How does that sound?
Quote from: Pottsburg on May 31, 2011, 10:13:48 AM
My first guess. Piss people off! Or maybe piss the wrong person off (stephen) so that person can write articles about how they disagree with the organization. Lol! How does that sound?
Please, if I had a dollar for everyone who hates SPAR I'd be rich.
You are making it sound like there is one disgruntled critic responsible for SPAR's tattered reputation. In reality, SPAR has managed through its own actions to piss off and horrify everyone from COJ HPC to RAP and most of its own Springfield neighborhood. SPAR has nothing to blame but itself.
Quote from: Bativac on May 31, 2011, 08:25:18 AM
What kind of signage does the car wash have?
a pretty decent sized sign right on Main Street...plus some flags and landscaping adjacent to the sidewalk.
as to the rest of the banter...this thread was not started to discuss SPAR...just to encourage folks to frequent the car wash!
It can't be a great time to own a carwash right now. It's dry out and cars are only getting a little dusty. Plus, money is tight and I would think a full service car wash is one of those luxury items that is the first to go when you have to choose between luxuries and groceries. The fact that this place is in the middle of a stretch of Main St that (to quote Egon Spengler) is like a demilitarized zone doesn't help any.
Still, I hope the business surivives and flourishes.
$6 for 6 minutes. Pretty good price for a car wash if you don't want to do it yourself.
I realize that people have to make money from their businesses but, aside from the lack of dirt on cars, there are competitive factors that should be recognized.
A self service car wash on Atlantic west of Southside charges $3.00 for the wash and the vacuum cleaner stations are free. I also think that not far from that business is one that charges $4.00
Main St car wash also allows folks to use the vacuum free of charge on the drive-thru washes
The car wash can not survive on the neighborhood alone. Mr. Silas spoke once or twice about having car shows there. From a business perspective it will take more than just visibility and a decent price, he needs a bigger draw like the car shows he talked about.
Additionally, I disagree tufsu1 about the lack of life on Main hurting his business. It does hurt. The blight and abandonment hurt. While I feel very safe in Springfield, there are plenty of people who don't (those that live outside of Springfield,) and I am certain that with not much around the carwash, some folks would be scared to go get a wash and wait. 6 minutes is an awfully long time in a dangerous neighborhood. And, yup, Springfield is still perceived as a dangerous neighborhood. WE know better, but. . . . .
Even if it's not perceived that way, no one who works downtown would bother to come. They'd go where they live. Ditto the folks in Metro North, Riverside, etc. They will frequent car washes near their homes. Unfortunate, but true. Doubtless, that's why it closed the first time. :-(
Location, location, location. It's most convenient when heading south on Main, which is more likely when people are headed for offices downtown, and they don't have time in the morning. Is he open on Sunday? He should go for the after-church crowd. We have a lot of congregations who draw from outside the immediate neighborhood. Heck, he should apply to BE a church, that's mostly what we have on Main these days. The Most Holy Church of the Spotless Wash.
They are open 7 days a week.
Hooplady, you crack me up. I almost spit soda on the keyboard at the church line.
Unfortunately, I don't know too many people traveling Main Street going south in the morning either. When I take Main at 7:30, during rush hour, I'm usually one of maybe three or four cars on it. Ditto coming home...same thing. Many years ago, when I did a short stint at St Lukes on Boulevard, Main Street used to be jammed during rush hours...even with I-95 already open. Not any more.
SAMBA - the Springfield Area Merchants and Business Association - will host a cookout at the Main Street Car Wash on Saturday, June 11th.
We'll be grilling hot dogs and hamburgers and serving complimentary lunch to Car Wash customers and SAMBA members from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Please come out and support this new Springfield business! Car washes are still only $6, and Silas has donated several certificates for future FREE car washes (including some of his more expensive services) that we'll be giving away during the event.
Im sure its a fine carwash with a fine owner. But Main is just totally "bombed out" looking still. Plus, the business is tucked away almost out of sight from passers by. And since they decided to make Main into a 4 lane highway artery (brilliant idea for a "main street" BTW), it just makes all of those matters worse ("nothing to see here, honey. just keep driving until we're out of it & back in civilization"). You laugh, but Im sure thats what a ton of people think.
Main's in a weird way right now. It suffered greatly from the artificial bubble over there & the current building owners are insane & still keeping their prices high (or just letting their buildings rot). I dont see any decent legitimate business doing well on that street until a lot of these problems are addressed.
Which BTW is really what SPAR & everyone else here should be discussing. I remember that mile long thread about the carwash on here that was just a lot of bickering over basically nothing. Perspective, people.
Well tell Silas that one of the vehicles that wen't through today was from the westside thanks to Metrojax. $10 for a wash and dry, including tip isn't bad. I can't bring myself to drive Mrs. NRWs car through because that would ruin my whole sunday, but he'll get the opportunity to wash mine every other week.
Quote from: peestandingup on June 03, 2011, 08:29:35 PM
Im sure its a fine carwash with a fine owner. But Main is just totally "bombed out" looking still.
stop making excuses and just support the business...then, if you have a good experience (like I have), tell all your friends!
Quote from: tufsu1 on June 03, 2011, 10:07:59 PM
Quote from: peestandingup on June 03, 2011, 08:29:35 PM
Im sure its a fine carwash with a fine owner. But Main is just totally "bombed out" looking still.
stop making excuses and just support the business...then, if you have a good experience (like I have), tell all your friends!
You & I could tell 1000 people & that still wouldn't solve the major underlying problems. So solve that if you want this district to do well. If not, then watch as the infrastructure continues to crumble, more vacancies go unattended & businesses who take a chance open then end up closing a few months later. Simple as that really. So do you have any real solutions??
And I support plenty of businesses over there, thanks. My family makes it a point to drive our happy asses to Springfield (out from suburban hell) just to support them.
Thanks to those of you who are supporting this business and other small businesses in Springfield and the rest of the urban core.
There are many people in Springfield working very hard to address the problems on Main Street, and we are making progress. It takes a long time to undo damage that occurred over many decades.
SAMBA's support of the car wash with a cookout may seem like a small thing (and it is) but at least it is something, something we can do quickly that WILL show that we care about this business.
Quote from: tufsu1 on June 03, 2011, 10:07:59 PM
Quote from: peestandingup on June 03, 2011, 08:29:35 PM
Im sure its a fine carwash with a fine owner. But Main is just totally "bombed out" looking still.
stop making excuses and just support the business...then, if you have a good experience (like I have), tell all your friends!
That's a good way to get people out there, order them to go out of their way and spend six bucks getting their car washed.
My wife and I go over to Springfield when we can and spend money. But $20 spread between City Kidz and a couple of other places over there doesn't go real far, and my wife is less forgiving of the area looking like a deserted theme park, so we usually spend half an hour there and then head over to Five Points or San Marco. My friends ain't going nowhere near Main St unless I drag them out there, and then they spend the whole excursion quietly wondering why their friend has dragged them out here.
The overall sadness and crappiness isn't an "excuse," it's a "reason." The car wash is a great start and I'm glad he was able to open the place and realize a personal dream. I hope it succeeds. The cookout sounds like a great idea and I wish I could go check it out. I also wish more small business owners had more money, fewer hoops to jump thru, and the desire (and the ability) to wait thru what will be a long period of recovery for the area.
It's like a catch 22 - no business wants to open there until the area is successful, but few businesses can afford to open there and wait around for the area to become successful. So it stays like it is.