Flagstop’s location on Ironbridge Road in Chesterfield is one of 24 in the region. (Photos courtesy Flagstop)
Richmond’s biggest car wash chain has just added three new locations to its ranks, including two it acquired from competitors and one it built from scratch.
Flagstop Car Wash announced earlier this week its purchase of Sudzy Malone’s Car Wash in Powhatan at 2622 Anderson Highway and Auto Spa Car Wash in Kilmarnock at 612 N. Main St.
The Anderson Highway car wash was Sudzy Malone’s only location, while Auto Spa has five other, still-functioning outposts, including one on Hull Street Road in Midlothian, one on Robious Road in Chesterfield and three others in the Tidewater region, according to its website.
Financial terms of the two acquisitions are not being disclosed, Flagstop CEO Jamie Nester said. The purchases of Sudzy Malone’s and Auto Spa closed on March 19 and April 15, respectively, and the two are now under the Flagstop brand.
“The acquisition of Sudzy Malone in Powhatan aligns strategically with our established presence in the greater Richmond market, enhancing our regional footprint,” Nester said in an email. “The Auto Spa in Kilmarnock represents an opportunity to expand into new areas of Virginia where we believe our business model will thrive, leveraging our expertise to deliver value and growth.”
Jamie Nester
With that broader expansion in mind, the private equity-backed chain also recently moved into Farmville with the opening of a newly built location at 2584 Farmville Road. Built on a 1.3-acre site, the car wash facility spans around 4,900-square-feet.
“Similar to Auto Spa, which is an hour east of Greater Richmond, Farmville represents an opportunity west of Greater Richmond where we believe our business model will thrive,” Nester said.
The Farmville location opened its doors in February.
Nester said Flagstop strategically chose the Farmville spot in part because of a newly constructed Wawa in the area.
Since taking on an investment from private equity firm Garnett Station Partners in 2022, Flagstop has expanded to 11 additional locations, including buying three existing locations from rival chain Green Clean Express Auto Wash last year.
In October, Flagstop opened new sites in Colonial Heights, at 360 Charles H. Dimmock Parkway, and Chesterfield, at 7600 Harpers Green Way.
With the addition of the new Farmville location and the Sudzy Malone and Auto Spa acquisitions, Flagstop is on track to operate over 25 units by the end of 2025, a goal Nester spoke of last year. The company is actively working on construction of a new Ashland location, set to open this summer at 12337 Washington Highway.
Nester declined to share construction costs for the Farmville location and the upcoming Ashland car wash.
He previously told BizSense it typically costs between $5.5 million and $6 million to build a Flagstop location, depending on the cost to acquire land.
The company has about 280 employees, including around 10 who joined via the acquisition of Sudzy Malone and Auto Spa.
Nester told BizSense that Flagstop COO Spencer Rakes has “strengthened our team” since joining the company last year, positioning Flagstop to scale up to 40 locations within the next year to 18 months. Nester declined to comment on specific areas for new sites and acquisitions, but noted that plans extend beyond the area into neighboring states.
Nester declined to comment on how much revenue Flagstop produces annually.
Flagstop was founded in Chester in 1981. Nester joined the company as an employee while in college in 1994, before taking over the business in 2017 and continuing to grow its location count.
In December 2022, Nester sold a majority stake of the company to Garnett Station for an undisclosed amount. He has continued to stay on and lead the company.
Flagstop’s location on Ironbridge Road in Chesterfield is one of 24 in the region. (Photos courtesy Flagstop)
Richmond’s biggest car wash chain has just added three new locations to its ranks, including two it acquired from competitors and one it built from scratch.
Flagstop Car Wash announced earlier this week its purchase of Sudzy Malone’s Car Wash in Powhatan at 2622 Anderson Highway and Auto Spa Car Wash in Kilmarnock at 612 N. Main St.
The Anderson Highway car wash was Sudzy Malone’s only location, while Auto Spa has five other, still-functioning outposts, including one on Hull Street Road in Midlothian, one on Robious Road in Chesterfield and three others in the Tidewater region, according to its website.
Financial terms of the two acquisitions are not being disclosed, Flagstop CEO Jamie Nester said. The purchases of Sudzy Malone’s and Auto Spa closed on March 19 and April 15, respectively, and the two are now under the Flagstop brand.
“The acquisition of Sudzy Malone in Powhatan aligns strategically with our established presence in the greater Richmond market, enhancing our regional footprint,” Nester said in an email. “The Auto Spa in Kilmarnock represents an opportunity to expand into new areas of Virginia where we believe our business model will thrive, leveraging our expertise to deliver value and growth.”
Jamie Nester
With that broader expansion in mind, the private equity-backed chain also recently moved into Farmville with the opening of a newly built location at 2584 Farmville Road. Built on a 1.3-acre site, the car wash facility spans around 4,900-square-feet.
“Similar to Auto Spa, which is an hour east of Greater Richmond, Farmville represents an opportunity west of Greater Richmond where we believe our business model will thrive,” Nester said.
The Farmville location opened its doors in February.
Nester said Flagstop strategically chose the Farmville spot in part because of a newly constructed Wawa in the area.
Since taking on an investment from private equity firm Garnett Station Partners in 2022, Flagstop has expanded to 11 additional locations, including buying three existing locations from rival chain Green Clean Express Auto Wash last year.
In October, Flagstop opened new sites in Colonial Heights, at 360 Charles H. Dimmock Parkway, and Chesterfield, at 7600 Harpers Green Way.
With the addition of the new Farmville location and the Sudzy Malone and Auto Spa acquisitions, Flagstop is on track to operate over 25 units by the end of 2025, a goal Nester spoke of last year. The company is actively working on construction of a new Ashland location, set to open this summer at 12337 Washington Highway.
Nester declined to share construction costs for the Farmville location and the upcoming Ashland car wash.
He previously told BizSense it typically costs between $5.5 million and $6 million to build a Flagstop location, depending on the cost to acquire land.
The company has about 280 employees, including around 10 who joined via the acquisition of Sudzy Malone and Auto Spa.
Nester told BizSense that Flagstop COO Spencer Rakes has “strengthened our team” since joining the company last year, positioning Flagstop to scale up to 40 locations within the next year to 18 months. Nester declined to comment on specific areas for new sites and acquisitions, but noted that plans extend beyond the area into neighboring states.
Nester declined to comment on how much revenue Flagstop produces annually.
Flagstop was founded in Chester in 1981. Nester joined the company as an employee while in college in 1994, before taking over the business in 2017 and continuing to grow its location count.
In December 2022, Nester sold a majority stake of the company to Garnett Station for an undisclosed amount. He has continued to stay on and lead the company.
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Flagstop’s footprint has been growing rapidly. It mystifies me that their customer service is so poor, I have called, emailed and inquired in person over some issues – silence on their part. The local Midlo manager offered that they were growing so fast that they cannot answer emails, return phone calls, etc. If that is their answer then that answers my concerns about lack of Customer Service.
You’re right, it’s all about the customer service.