This story was originally published by The Telegraph.
Chuck Duggan recalled how water was trucked in from a mining company east of Macon after the Great Flood of 1994 to keep Fountain Car Wash in business when the city was without water for almost three weeks.
Duggan shared other stories of the car wash that’s been a Macon mainstay for more than 50 years. He was a general manager, then partner and later owner of the car wash at 1820 Hardeman Avenue between 1989 and 2014. Among the stories was the electrical fire of 1999 that resulted in the car wash getting new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and all new wiring.
Duggan was also on site when movie crews showed up to film scenes at the car wash.
In “Need for Speed,” several downtown roads were closed for the filming of a chase scene, including the off-ramp at Hardeman Avenue and the car wash itself for a day.
Credit: Becky Purser
Credit: Becky Purser
In the lesser known remake of horror thriller, “The Crazies,” the car wash was shut down for eight days as its tunnel became the scene of an attack after a toxic virus invaded the film’s imaginary town.
“Fountain Car Wash has been a landmark in Macon for 50-plus years,” Duggan said. “People say, ‘Get off the interstate at Hardeman Avenue, turn right at Fountain Car Wash or meet me at Fountain Car Wash and we’ll go to such and such.’
“It became a landmark and the thousands of young men and women who had their first job there — there was a lot; an awful lot — and that’s probably the legacy of the Fountain.”
New ownership
That legacy is expected to continue under the car wash’s new owners, five close friends from Macon and Forsyth: Wes Cone, Todd Rivers, Mike Conard, and brothers Jeffery Shepherd and John Shepherd.
“We’re just really close friends,” Cone said. “We met through church and through business, kind of different things.”
The men have invested nearly $2 million for the top-to-bottom remodel, and they’ve hired nearly all of the Fountain employees.
“All new everything, from ceiling to floor, so the next time you go in there, you won’t recognize the place.”
Also included in the cost is a less extensive remodel planned for the former Fountain Car Wash sister location in Gray that they also purchased.
Big Peach at Fountain
The remodel of the Macon mainstay includes wrapping a good portion of the interior walls with newspaper articles and photos that capture its history.
“So you’re gonna see significant amounts of history of that building actually on the walls,” Cone said.
The new name, Big Peach at Fountain, is also a nod to the car wash’s legacy.
Credit: Becky Purser
Credit: Becky Purser
Meanwhile, the Gray location will be called Big Peach Car Wash, the name of their brand they’re expanding across Georgia and into Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Of 15 new car washes in the works, two more are expected to go up in Middle Georgia.
Their first Big Peach Car Wash opened in Forsyth in July 2021. They also have one in Jackson and one in McDonough that’s expected to open in about four months.
The friends financed their business venture through Withco, which bills itself as “a mission-driven real estate investor that transforms business owners into commercial property owners.”
‘Car wash junkies’
“We’re kind of car wash junkies,” Cone said. “When we had the idea to do it, we said let’s do each little thing we love from every car wash. We just all thought the car wash industry was really cool. That was basically it.”
Unlike their other express car washes, Big Peach at Fountain is the only one expected to offer a full service car wash as well as oil changes.
“Most car washes are express, which means after your drive through the tunnel, if you want to vacuum it yourself, you can do that, or you can just keep going,” Cone said. “Full service is where you actually get out, go inside and then one of the employees cleans out your car and takes it through the tunnel and everything.
“It’s going to be an express tunnel but we’ll also still offer full service, which is what everybody has been used to at Fountain for years.”
They expect to offer discounted prices on oil changes for their unlimited car wash customers.
“We’re actually starting our own oil change brand that we are going to start building with most of our new washes,” he said. “Everybody who has an unlimited plan with us, they will get heavily discounted oil changes.”
The remodel
The remodel included all new tunnel equipment, tearing down a metal office building and leveling the lot for additional vacuums. The exterior and interior are getting a face lift.
Credit: Becky Purser
Credit: Becky Purser
In the waiting area, they’re adding a soda fountain with their own branded cups and are loading the area with “cool stuff — merchandise, snacks” and TVs. They’ll also have free WiFi.
The interior design accommodates both nearby residents and people who work nearby.
“We’re going to have some high tops, a lot of seating with built-in charging stations for your laptops and your cell phones so that you can easily still work while you’re in there,” Cone said. “So you’ll have entertainment if you’re not working but you’ll have the ability to bring in your laptops, phones, computers, whatever to keep doing what you’re doing.”
The fountain at the car wash remains.
“It’s still working and we’re still going to continue the tradition with Cherry Blossom and doing it pink,” Cone said.
Credit: The Telegraph
Credit: The Telegraph
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