‘Luxury’ car wash featuring food trucks coming to Traverse City

By: Justine Lofton

The "luxury" Green Mitt car wash in Traverse City would include room for food trucks and outdoor dining while also being eco-friendly with a footprint about 25% that of a typical car wash.Car Wash Pro Designers

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – A former restaurant site in Traverse City could be transformed into a “luxury” car wash, complete with a food truck area, by early 2021.

The high-end, eco-friendly car wash, Green Mitt, would take the place of the former Hooters restaurant, 1840 US-31 in East Bay Township, if township officials give the green light this summer.

The car wash could open during March or April 2021, said designer Nick Spallone, of Chicago-based Car Wash Pro Designers. That timeline, which includes the demolition of the former restaurant, is pending township zoning and permit approvals.

Car Wash Pro Designers has designed hundreds of car washes nationwide. They are built to resemble a bank, Spallone said. That design often allows them to be placed in areas that wouldn’t normally permit a car wash, like the restaurant row this one would be in.

Space for food trucks and outdoor dining are expected to be part of the project, making it even more attractive to the beach district restaurant row, The Ticker reports. Spallone said food trucks would likely be at the site only on certain days.

“All of the spaces, equipment and chemicals are the absolute best money can buy,” Spollone said, explaining what makes the car wash “luxury.” It also will use a belt instead of a track.

The car washes are eco-, sound-, electric- and water-friendly, Spallone said. That results in an environmental footprint at 25% of a typical car wash. A typical car wash used 70-80 gallons per wash, but Green Mitt would use 15 gallons.

Featuring an exterior of limestone and brick, the car wash would be 150 feet long and 35 feet wide, The Ticker reports. It would use all LED lighting and all biodegradable, plant-based cleaning products.