Longtime car wash changes hands

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/05/2010 (5628 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OVER the past 31 years, Jamie Penner has seen almost every kind of car or truck imaginable pass through Midtown Car Wash.

Stretch limousines, luxury sedans, rust-buckets, muscle cars, trucks, vans, SUVs, and cop cars. Lots and lots of cop cars, because Midtown had the contract to wash the Winnipeg Police Service’s patrol cars.

His favourite? A Bentley convertible. He’s not sure what the model year was, “but I just drooled over that car.”

But for Penner, 49, and his wife Laurie, 47, all of that washing, vacuuming, buffing (and drooling) comes to an end at 5 p.m. today when they shut down the equipment for the last time and make way for a new owner and the city’s new rapid transit bus corridor.

It was a year ago next month that the city officially informed the Penners it would be expropriating a portion of their property to make room for the first leg of its new rapid transit bus corridor, which will run along the east side of Donald Street.

Although the city only wanted a portion of their property, the Penners said there wouldn’t be enough room left for vehicles to queue up or for their gas-bar and car-rental operations. And they didn’t want to continue operating the business under those conditions.

So when the city couldn’t find them another downtown property to relocate to, it bought everything — the property, the buildings and equipment, even the company name — for $3.4 million. The Penners said they’ve since been told someone else has purchased the pared-down property and will operate it as a car wash.

A city spokesperson said Friday it’s premature to discuss the matter.

While today is the Penners’ last day of operation, they don’t hand over the keys until May 31. And on that final day they plan to run one last vehicle through the car wash — either his 2008 Ford 350 half-ton or her 2010 Mercedes GLK 350 crossover, which was a recent gift from Jamie. The betting is on the Mercedes.

Perched on a picnic table outside the car wash at around 10 a.m. Friday, with about a dozen vehicles already lined up to get in, the Penners admitted it’s tough to walk away from a business that has been such a big part of their lives for so many years. (He’s been there since 1979 and she’s been there since 1983, first as employees and for the last 24 years as owner/operators.)

Tough for them and tough for some of their long-time customers, who have become more like family members than customers.

“There’s been a few tears shed,” Laurie said, quickly looking away.

One of those long-time customers is Pony Corral owner Peter Ginakes has been taking his vehicles to Midtown since he was 19 years old. That’s 22 years.

“I went almost every day and they’ll be missed,” the restaurateur said. “They were hands-on operators, and they did really good work.”

Ginakes said he’ll check out the new operator when the car wash reopens because he passes by it on his way to and from work. “But I’m not sure if it’s going to be the same (without the Penners),” he said.

Life certainly won’t be the same for Midtown’s long-time manager, Jeff Dueck, whose last day is today. The 35-year-old had hoped to buy the business from the Penners when they retired. And with that no longer an option, he’s taking the summer off and then embarking on a new career as a real estate agent.

The Penners also plan to take the summer off, spend time with their three children, and review their options. Maybe they’ll start another business, or maybe they’ll also try something completely different. One thing they won’t be doing is retiring.

“I bet you within a month I’ll be climbing the walls,” Jamie predicted.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

Midtown was busy hub

Here’s some Midtown Car Wash trivia, courtesy of longtime owners Jamie and Laurie Penner:

— Number of years the car wash has been in business: 50.

— Number of years they’ve been sole owners: 24.

— Number of vehicles that come through on a typical “good” day: 250 to 300.

— Number on a typical “slow” day: about 50.

— Most ever in a single day: 666.

— Least number washed on a single day: Five, during a blizzard in 1997.

— Busiest season: Spring, followed closely by summer.

— Usual number of employees: 40 to 45.

— Number working Friday morning: 26

— Most famous customers: These two need to take name-dropping lessons. The only one they coughed up (under pressure) was Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz. But they said their regular customers also included lots of politicians, prominent business leaders, and high-profile lawyers.