CINCINNATI — Convenience-store retailer United Dairy Farmers (UDF) is working with car wash brand Carriage House to launch Carriage House Express Wash at 12 UDF locations with existing car washes across Northern Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati area, as far north as Columbus.
- UDF is No. 44 on CSP’s 2021 Top 202 ranking of convenience stores by store count.
Cincinnati-based Carriage House owns and operates its flagship Neighborhood Car Wash facility in Columbia Township under its Carriage House Neighborhood Wash brand. Carriage House Express Wash is a car wash experience designed for the UDF locations and small and mid-tier markets where the Express Wash concept is best suited. Carriage House is opening more locations in the coming years.
The first location is set to open in Loveland, Ohio, in August 2021, with the remaining 11 opening on a rolling basis through June 2022. Carriage House will announce more standalone locations soon, starting with a Maineville, Ohio, location.
“I was a customer of Carriage House before they approached us and had been really impressed by the car wash experience they had created.” said David Lindner, UDF owner and vice president of retail. Cincinnati-based UDF had not considered a partnership to turn over its existing car wash portfolio in the past, but in 2019, Carriage House and UDF began to explore this concept formally.
Managing partners Justin Stone and David Fissel designed a custom delivery system for UDF locations to provide the same experience as they have at their flagship location.
“The cost and complexity of car wash technology normally poses a real barrier to quality at the convenience store level,” said Justin Stone, co-founder and managing partner of Carriage House. “That’s why it hasn’t been done before.”
“The value of the car wash service will really appeal to our customers, who can buy washes at the pump and receive U-Drive points toward their next fill-up. Unlimited Carriage House Members can wash at any Carriage House Neighborhood Wash or Carriage House Express Wash location. Free vacuums are available for Unlimited Members at any Carriage House location,” said Denise Jenkins, UDF vice president of marketing, insights and loyalty.
With 175 UDF dairy stores across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, UDF stores sell proprietary products that include hand-dipped ice cream, malts and shakes, baked goods from the family bakery, coffee and other fresh foods and dairy products. After 80 years, the company continues to be family owned.
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