About Us

The Tidal Wave Auto Spa Story

Tidal Wave Auto Spa’s roots stem all the way back to the year 1999 when Scott and Hope Blackstock decided to add a car wash to their Thomaston, Georgia-based auto service center. We started with a simple, 5 bay self-service wand wash. Soon, we expanded the wash with a newly-designed, specialty mud bay, which proved to be a big hit with ATV and ORV enthusiasts.

car wash

2004 was a magical year! Tidal Wave opened its very first express car wash and revolutionized the car wash industry. This first express wash, which ultimately became Tidal Wave’s signature model, was located in metro Atlanta. Its success with the public attracted visits from industry insiders from across the country. Tidal Wave’s founders had traveled across the southeast researching ways to improve the industry. Our search helped change the industry, and more importantly, gave our customers a superior car wash experience and a better, cleaner product out of the wash tunnel.

With his engineering background, Scott tweaked the common car wash designs and layouts to improve efficiency, experience, and cleanliness. Hope focused on the aesthetics of the business, ensuring that our clean, attractive buildings and well-landscaped lots were an attraction that any community could be proud to host. Their combined results gave Tidal Wave customers a lightning-fast wash that left cars sparkling like new. Given the focus on beauty, community pride, and stellar, unequaled customer service, it’s no surprise that Tidal Wave quickly became the most successful express car wash in the country. Today, many locations later, we are still busy breaking records.

Following this initial “wave” of success, Tidal Wave Auto Spa expanded throughout the Southeast and now Midwest states.  We now have many locations with more on the way. Fast, efficient, and friendly service and sparkling clean cars make our loyal customers our best ambassadors. Our fans are passionate about Tidal Wave!

Why Choose Tidal Wave for My Car Wash?

There are so many great reasons to wash your car with Tidal Wave Auto Spa!

  • We’re green! And, we help you to be Green! At every location possible, we have built-in technology that recaptures the water and recycles it to minimize waste. Washing the average car in your driveway at home uses 93 gallons of water. Plus, it sends that dirty water untreated into your yard or into sewers where it can impact local waterways such as creeks, rivers, or coastal areas. Compare that to washing at Tidal Wave Auto Spa. Our high pressure washes use just 32 gallons of water per car. Wash at Tidal Wave, and Mother Nature will thank you!
  • We’re clean! And we aren’t just talking about the cars! From the beginning, we have focused on maintaining attractive, clean locations. From wash equipment and vacuum centers to the waiting rooms and bathrooms, our locations are spotless. It’s no surprise that we’ve had more than one community approach us about opening a wash in their area!
  • We’re fun! With our multicolored foam, your kids are sure to love going through our carwash. Come at night and enjoy the light show!
  • We have the very best people! We take extreme pride in the qualities of the Tidal Wave team members. Our team members are friendly, caring, responsible, and highly competent. Plus, we have great smiles! So that you can be served with confidence, every Tidal Wave team member successfully undergoes both background and drug screen checks.
  • We’re a club! We welcome all customers to wash their cars with us, but we highly recommend joining our Unlimited Wash Club. Members enjoy incredible savings and comprehensive washes.
  • We’re involved! One big thing that sets us apart is our commitment to the communities we serve. We offer fundraising opportunities for schools, churches, civic groups, sports teams, and more. We also love interacting with our customers, which is why we maintain separate Facebook accounts for each location. Be sure to “like” us, send us a picture of your freshly-washed car, or tag us in a video of your kids loving the car wash and be sure to use the hashtag #tidalwaveautospa.

Charitable Efforts

At Tidal Wave Auto Spa, giving back is extremely important to us. Because our founders have a son with special needs, organizations that serve children and adults with developmental disabilities have always been very dear to our hearts.

Each year, every Tidal Wave location selects a charity or non-profit to support… often with a special needs connection. By extension, our customers lend their support to these groups, as well. On the third Friday of every September, every location donates 100% of that day’s proceeds to the chosen group. Thanks to the generous support of our customers, Tidal Wave Auto Spa has donated over $500,000 to exceptional, deserving organizations such as:

  • Annandale Village
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters
  • St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
  • M.O.V.E. (via the Joseph Sams School in Fayetteville, Georgia)
  • The Gilmore Center
  • Florence County Disabilities Foundation
  • The American Red Cross

Through Charity Day and additional giving, Tidal Wave and its parent company are proud to have donated over $1 million to special needs programs (total is for years 2000 – 2019).

Awards & Recognitions

  • 2020 #6 on the Top 50 List of conveyor car washes
  • 2020 Inc. 5000 list for America’s Fastest Growing Companies 
  • 2019 #10 on the Top 50 list of conveyor car washes 
  • Our founders were honored when the United States Small Business Administration selected Tidal Wave Auto Spa as Georgia’s Small Business Of the Year, 2009

Tidal Wave Auto Spa is proud to have been recognized in many communities including Florence (Best of the PeeDee 2017-2020), Sumter (The Item’s Readers’ Choice 2017-2020), Warner Robins (The Telegraph’s Best of the Best 5 years in a row), Milledgeville (Best Car Wash 7 years in a row), Moultrie (Best of the Best 4 years in a row & Best New Business in 2017) Augusta (Cyver City’s Best Car Wash 2019 & 2020) and Thomaston (Upson Beacon’s Best of the Best 2017-2020).

The City of Conway, South Carolina selected Tidal Wave Auto Spa for the C.P. Quattlebaum Design Award for the year 2018. This award recognizes outstanding projects in the areas of interior design, development, restoration, landscape design and signage. In a letter from Mayor Barbara Jo Blain-Bellamy, Tidal Wave Auto Spa was noted for “outstanding new construction of a nonresidential building,” for its positive impact on the aesthetics of the community.