The Stars of Broadway
By Timothy Denman

Broadway Bridge Wash & Lube fits nicely in the city landscape.

A car enters the mostly MacNeil-equipped tunnel.

Before entering the full-serve tunnel all cars receive a thorough vacuuming.

Cars pull into the wash on 220th Street.

The patented interior drying system ensures customers drive off with dry mats and seats.

Broadway Bridge Wash & Lube might be the last business in Manhattan, but it is the first place that comes to mind when customers want to make their car a showstopper.

The wash opened six years ago when owner Ori Apple purchased a run-down wash at 5134 Broadway, New York, NY and began a ground-up rebuild. The results are a car wash, oil change, and detail center that rivals what other owners can accomplish with a much larger footprint.

The facility is located at the top of Manhattan Island, just one block from the bridge that brings motorists to The Bronx, and sees the kind of street traffic that would make a suburban wash owner drool.

Enticing customers into the tunnel is a well-conceived wash menu and a commitment and reputation for quality service and customer satisfaction.

“The concept we have here is open space,” general manager Moshe Farkash says. “We like it when people can see their cars. Especially when you do mechanical work on their vehicles it is important that customers can see what is going on.”

After exiting their cars at the tunnel entrance, customers enter the lobby through a long glass corridor that offers clear, unobstructed views of both the tunnel and the lube center. From that perspective customers can watch their cars travel through the 100-foot tunnel, or monitor the progress in the five-bay oil change center.

The mostly MacNeil-equipped tunnel offers five menu options: One Star, Two Star, Three Star, Four Star, and Five Star, with the Four and Five being the most popular.

The One Star features a full-serve wash plus triple foam wax, undercarriage treatment, and rust inhibitor and costs $10.75. The Two Star features hot wax, wheel brite, and tire shine with Armor All and costs $13.25. For $16.75 the Three Star level offers both triple foam and hot wax. For $19.75 the Four Star level adds a complete interior Armor All and floor mat service. The top-of-the line Five Star costs $26 and features all of the services of the other levels plus RainX and a complete hand spray wax.

The hand spray wax is unique to Broadway. The service features Ecolab wax that is applied to the vehicle with a professional painter’s air gun. The wax can be sprayed on the entire vehicle in just two minutes including windows and wheels. The product is easily removed with a microfiber towel, with the whole process taking about 10 minutes.

“The hand wax is very popular,” Farkash says. “Spraying it on with the gun saves a lot of time and labor.”

Labor is a constant concern at Broadway. Full-service washes in the Northeast relay heavily on labor, especially in the busy winter months. On a busy winter Saturday, Broadway has over 20 employees on hand to deal with the long lines of customers eager to get the salt off their vehicles.

Although the wash will always be reliant on labor, Broadway has made some improvements recently to help keep labor costs down. In addition to adding the air-fed spray wax, the wash has added a wheel scrubber to its tunnel to help keep labor numbers down.

“Our biggest customer complaint used to be rims,” Farkash says. “Not only does the machine do a better job then we were doing before by hand, but we were able to cut our labor by three.”

The interior of the lobby offers views of both the 100-foot tunnel and lube center.

Broadway is a full-serve wash from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but converts to an exterior only from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The 24-hour operation features a basic exterior wash in the over-night hours for $4, with three additional wash packages available. The star theme carries over to the exterior wash menu, with choices of One, Two, and Three Star packages. The One Star package costs $7 and features a complete exterior wash plus triple foam wax, undercarriage treatment, and rust inhibitor. The Two Star level costs $10 and adds hot wax and Armor All treatment on tires. The Three Star exterior wash costs $12 and features all of the services of the other levels plus RainX treatment.

The wash operates with a much smaller crew during exterior only hours. Typically two to four employees are on hand overnight to guide cars onto the conveyor, run the register, and do a quick wipe down at the tunnel exit.

In addition to the full-serve tunnel, Broadway also offers hand-washing services. “Hand washing is a shrinking service,” Farkash says. “Our Four and Five Star package provide the same service much quicker, but some people still prefer the hand wash option. Typically these people have the old myth in their brains about damage from a full-serve tunnel. Those problems just don’t exist anymore with modern equipment.”

Broadway’s commitment to technology and innovation is evident all over the property, including the detail center. Customers who have their interior upholstery and carpets scrubbed are treated to a one-of-a-kind drying system that ensures no one drives off with moist, stinking carpets. Broadway’s patented interior drying system ducts heated air into a vehicle through the windows, and can completely dry the interior in less than an hour.

The five-bay oil change center is full as usual.

No journey through the tunnel is complete without a stop under the high-powered blowers.

“A lot of places shampoo and don’t let the interior dry,” Farkash says. “After a day the car’s interior smells. Our system is much more professional.”

The management’s devotion to customer satisfaction is matched only by their commitment to environmental issues. The wash recycles water — using fresh water only for the soap and final rinse — and all of Broadway’s wash chemicals are biodegradable, but that is only for starters.

Broadway is pioneering a “Green Oil Change” program in the lube center, dedicated to reducing the environmental footprint of both the business and its customers. The new program, which is set to launch in the coming months will feature re-refined motor oil and recycled oil filters. Other available green products and services will include recycled batteries, environmentally friendly anti-freeze, and emission service to help keep harmful CO2 levels low.

“The whole goal is to have less of a footprint,” Farkash says. “We are going to offer the ‘Green Oil Change’ as an option. We will set up a corner of the shop with all of the supplies on display to educate the customers about the new service. Of course the green option is going to be more expensive and will not be for everyone, but it is important to us to offer this service to our customers.”

Advertising and marketing efforts are kept to a minimum at Broadway. The wash runs a spot on local cable networks, but relies primarily on word-of-mouth to promote the wash. Helping to build customer loyalty is the wash’s VIP Membership Card. The card costs just $5 a year and entitles the holder to $3 off every oil change, $2 off every wash, 10 percent off in the detail center, and a free car wash on their birthday. Cashiers inform customers not yet in the club about its benefits at check out with great success. Over 30 percent of customers are VIP Club members.

Broadway Bridge Wash & Lube has been catering to customers for the past six years, and with products and services constantly evolving and upgrading the wash is sure to remain the Star of Broadway for years to come.