Keeping a Zip Code Clean

Bryan Snyder, 45, has a creative mind, coupled with a fertile imagination. Both characteristics played a significant role in the progression of his business career.

Living in Nolensville, Snyder made the world of on-air radio personality his first career stop. He later shifted his focus to sales. 

His skill set and confidence level grew with each step, prompting him to take his first leap of faith when he launched Snyder Entertainment. 

“It was a private entertainment business,” Snyder explained. “We engineered and produced special events for corporate companies, organizations, and private individuals. Before long, I was responsible for conceiving, planning, and executing around 500 events per year.”

Snyder spent a lot of time away from home, and one day, he realized he was missing a lot of the events in his two young daughters’ lives. It was wife/mother Ashley filling the role of solo supporter of their activities. Snyder wanted to be more involved, so he got together with four friends to brainstorm. Their imaginations started firing, and they came up with a plan.

A car wash! 

A car wash?

Snyder chuckled. “The five of us went together and bought a piece of land. Then we sat around and tried to figure out what to do with it. We had a lot of conversations and in one of them, we mentioned there was no car wash in Nolensville. We talked more and more, and the idea seemed better and better.”

But they knew nothing about car washes. “So, originally, the plan was to build it as an investment. We had more talks and started asking one another, ‘What if we run it ourselves?’”

The plan kept growing. “Bryan Howell and I are the co-owners/operators,” Snyder said. “Jason Patrick, Bill Kottas, and Tom Smith fill the roles of acquisitions and investments.  We defined our functions early in the process, so we knew our responsibilities. 

“Bryan was Officer 820 for several years with Nolensville and Williamson County. He later became Director of Public Works, saving the town a ton of money through his extensive mechanical knowledge. Today, he’s doing the same thing for us by keeping our car washes maintained and functioning smoothly,” Snyder said.

“We also have multiple land sites tied up in contracts and others under consideration. We tried to be strategic about locations so there would be no roadblocks if we decided to expand,” he said.

“We wanted to reach as far out as we could with our name. We were the first car wash in Nolensville, so we decided to go with Wash 37135, letting people know we intended to keep every vehicle in that zip code clean.”

The fab-five car wash guys wanted to stand out as a fun, cool culture. This is where Snyder’s event planning experience came into play.

“We wanted to form a supportive relationship with the town, its organizations, and the residents” he explained.

Today, the car wash’s Tunnel of Love marks Valentine’s Day, Lucky Wash is set for St. Patrick’s Day, and Blood Bath is for Halloween.

“We sponsored a young man named Hudson who faced several physical challenges,” Snyder said. “His folks wanted to get a device that would allow him to feed himself. We held Hudson’s Carnival, raised nearly $14,000 in cash and donations to pay for the device plus a summer camp for him.”

Wash 37135 opened in June 2019. COVID hit. The partners created a contactless wash experience. It allowed people to get out of the house, and the car wash thrived.  

That was a bit more than four years ago. Since then, Wash 37055 opened in Dickson, Wash 37062 in Fairview, and a fourth location is on the drawing board. It’s called expansion, and the land was in place.

Each new opening is celebrated with giveaways of the company’s most expensive washes. A tornado hit Dickson shortly after Wash 37055 turned on its water. The entire crew was out in the community, helping in any way they could.

“We also support the main food pantry at each location,” Snyder revealed. “Over the past four years, more than $100,000 has gone to Nolensville.”

Many of the local employees have been in place since the first day of operation. They consider the atmosphere as a place to learn, grow, and succeed.

If you take a road trip through middle Tennessee, be sure to find zip codes 37055, 37062, and 37135. Your road-weary vehicle will probably be ready for a wash. After all, you don’t want it to stand out like a dirty sore thumb amongst all those other spit-shined cars and trucks.       

https://www.wash37135.com/