Check Out The Revamped New Tampa Flagship Of Bay Breeze Car Wash!

General manager Terrance Ramoutar (left) and assistant manager José Ortiz  greet you at the Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube flagship location off BBD Blvd. just north of I-75 in New Tampa.

In a day full of appointments and deadlines, basic vehicle maintenance can oftentimes fall into the ”I’ll do it later” box.

At the 14-year-old flagship location of Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube, located off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just north of I-75 (in North Palms Village), you can move that maintenance out of deferment and into the checked box.

Whether it’s an express or full-service car wash, Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube is going to get you in and out on the hop.

“The quality of the job a customer gets and the in and out time getting it done is something that sets us apart from other car washes,” VP of operations Scott Barone says.

Bay Breeze Car Wash is still expanding, too. The company plans to open a new Express Wash location in Wesley Chapel on SR 54 and Vandine Rd. by the end of this year.

Just how fast is Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube?

If it’s an oil change, Barone says most customers are in and out in 15 minutes once work begins on their car. Coming soon to the New Tampa flagship location, customers will be able to remain inside their vehicle when purchasing Express Car Washes, a new feature that will allow Express Wash customers to get in and out even quicker, as the location now has a much-improved Express Wash lane.

Express Wash lanes are offered at all seven Bay Breeze locations across the Tampa Bay area, including at the company’s other  New Tampa location off BBD, in the Trout Creek area of New Tampa, just a little south of Wesley Chapel.

The Express Wash aims at getting customers in and out in less than three minutes. Now, there even are payment methods in place so that the customer never has to leave his or her vehicle. “We keep the express in express and this applies to both oil changes and washes,” Barone says. “You’re not getting in and out in 15 minutes (for an oil change) if you go to the dealership.”

For vehicle maintenance, Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube can do more than just oil changes, too.

Most standard vehicle maintenance services are available, including: windshield wipers, air filter, transmission/coolant/engine flush, light bulb replacement and fuel injection. Check out BayBreezeCarWash.com for a full list of available services.

Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube uses Mobil 1 oil and in the month of June and July is offering a free car wash (valued at $20) with the purchase of a full synthetic oil change.

Upgrading & Expanding

The Express Wash area (photo, right) at the flagship location has reopened with a new Express Wash menu, complete with a dedicated lane and easier-to-negotiate new exit from the facility.

And, while the revamped Express Wash lane will not have a free vacuum area included with each wash, the flagship location’s renovation will include a towel dry for each Express Wash purchased, something Barone says is not offered at other Bay Breeze locations.

Along with the physical renovations, Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube also is offering new membership options, ranging from as little as $20 per month to $50 per month. They hope to have a new Unlimited Full Service Membership available within the coming months as well. The $50 Ultimate Package includes a tire shine, application of a nano-polymer sealant and a triple foam polish. Both memberships include unlimited Express Washes.

Express Washes are done using the same spinning rollers that you remember as a kid; however, instead of the coarse bristled brushes, Bay Breeze uses 2nd Generation Envirosoft brushes, which are made from foam.

“It’s closed-cell foam technology where no particles get trapped,” Barone says. “It’s the best material on the market for the surface of your vehicle.”

Home-Grown Talent

New Tampa general manager Terrance Ramoutar and assistant manager José Ortiz have both come up through the ranks at Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube.

Most Bay Breeze locations have between six and 10 employees. The flagship station in New Tampa, however, has 60.

“We call this location (New Tampa) ‘Bay Breeze University’ because it’s where we identify talent,” Barone says. “Most (of our) management staff passes through this store at some point.”

Ramoutar has 15 years of experience in the industry and ran the car wash at the New Tampa location prior to Bay Breeze taking it over in 2004.

Ortiz worked in detailing at Stadium Toyota prior to coming over to Bay Breeze 17 months ago, and helped open the location on BBD in the Trout Creek area.

“José stood out,” Barone says. “We look for people with a hunger and desire to grow and from the beginning, José demonstrated that he was responsible, motivated and dedicated, and he rose to become a manager.”

Ortiz says he learned a lot about the company and managing it at the Trout Creek location.

“Multi-tasking, workload, employee relations, accommodating customers, the experience put me in touch with some of the problems you come in contact with at express locations,” Ortiz said. “When I transitioned over to full service, you’re dealing with many more employees and you have to learn to schedule weeks ahead and forecast things.”

Ramoutar was a greeter at the previous car wash and when the transition to Bay Breeze happened, he was elevated to supervisor and, eventually, to general manager.

“It takes a lot of worry away, knowing these guys, knowing their history, how they work,” Barone says. “Having them in key roles is important. Otherwise, it just doesn’t work.”

Barone himself has worked his way up, too. He was the GM of the Brandon location (2007-13) and has been Bay Breeze corporate’s VP of operations for the last five years.

All three have the same sentiments about working in a family atmosphere.

“In my experience, a family-owned company with a family atmosphere treats employees and customers the same way,” Ramoutar says. “It feels like a family here. That’s why we have people that have been coming to us for 15 years.”

Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube also has gift cards available.

The flagship New Tampa location of Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube is located at 17501 N. Palms Village Pl. (next to Steak & Shake) and is open Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. For more info, call (813) 615-1333.

The Trout Creek location is at 20306 Trout Creek Dr. and its car wash services are available seven days a week, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Lube services are available at this location Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. For more info, call (813) 973-0033 or visit BayBreezeCarWash.com. 

Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube Growing Fast

Moses Pomales, the general manager at Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube’s “express” location just south of County Line Rd., monitors the traffic through the express wash tunnel.
Moses Pomales, the general manager at Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube’s “express” location just south of County Line Rd., monitors the traffic through the express wash tunnel.

Setting out on a cross-town, rush hour drive doesn’t have to be an onerous journey if your car is looking good and running right. Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube can help by cleaning your car’s finish to a spotless shine, detailing the interior to look, feel and smell great and ensuring that all of your vehicle’s life-giving fluids are refreshed, all in one visit.

And, an automotive makeover at Bay Breeze all but guarantees that your view will be through a clean windshield.

Bay Breeze has seven locations in four counties, from Polk to Pinellas, including three that are within minutes of most Wesley Chapel residents.

The company’s flagship location is the full-service operation in the heart of New Tampa on N. Palms Village Pl., off of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just north of I-75. The second New Tampa location is an express wash and lube operation on Trout Creek Dr., off of BBD, north of Paul R. Wharton High (next to Burger 21). Many Wesley Chapel residents have found the Land O’Lakes express wash and lube facility located a little west of the Tampa Premium Outlets on S.R. 54 at Foggy Ridge Pkwy.

The hands-on detailing provided at the N. Palms Village facility (referred to as the New Tampa location on Bay Breeze’s website) provides bumper-to-bumper, carpet-to-headliner, sidewall-to-sidewall cleaning. Lube services include oil and filter changes and preventive maintenance on cooling systems and transmissions.

Bay Breeze’s express wash and lube facilities offer quick, efficient, hands-free, machine-operated cleaning as well as basic upkeep. A free express wash is included with each oil change and express washes include free customer use of vacuums to clean their interiors and air to inflate their tires.

The family that owns the business has made being the Tampa Bay area’s premiere car wash and lube destination its goal. VP of operations Scott Barone says achieving that means making a strong commitment to customer service.

“We like to say ‘above and beyond,’” Barone says. “That means the place looks good and things are operating at the Bay Breeze level of quality.”

Keeping Customers Satisfied

Barone identified five areas the company emphasizes when conducting business: “Quality, service, cleanliness, friendliness (being easy to do business with) and safety.”

Abiding by these high standards has earned Bay Breeze recognition from readers of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, who voted the company “Best in the Biz” for the years 2012, 2013 and 2015 in the Favorite Car Wash & Detailer category.

There’s also praise from locals like Pam Cazes, who has been a longtime Bay Breeze customer and whose entire family of six drivers also use the New Tampa locations.

“We take our cars there for detailing and oil changes,” says Cazes, who lives in Cory Lake Isles. “The service is excellent and they treat the cars with respect.”

At the Trout Creek express location (called the Bruce B. Downs store on Bay Breeze’s website), general manager Moses Pomales is responsible for providing customers an optimal Bay Breeze experience. Pomales came up through the ranks of the company, starting out as a lube greeter and working in a succession of supervisory positions over nine years before assuming his current position.

Pomales says his approach is to always put customer needs first.

“I walk the facility and interact with customers to see what they need,” the Cross Creek resident says. “We’re here to give them the best experience they can have, from beginning to end.”

That experience starts as soon as a customer enters a Bay Breeze driveway, with a greeter providing directions to the appropriate service area. If maintenance is on the agenda, the car’s VIN is scanned on an iPad and its service history is available to the technicians.

The customer waiting area is decorated and maintained like a bank lobby in terms of cleanliness and comfort. But, Barone says, it’s not as if express lube customers have a lot of time to settle in for a long stay.

“As soon as we start working on a car, our goal is 15 minutes or less for an oil change,” Barone says.

Bay Breeze acquired the Trout Creek location about a year ago. The company closed the facility down for a few weeks to re-configure the express wash tunnels and make other improvements. Barone invites people who had been customers of the previous business to check out the changes.

“Come on back and see us,” he says.

For drivers who like to maintain their cars in spotless condition, Bay Breeze offers monthly VIP package memberships that save frequent customers money.

“We get customers who come in every morning to get a car wash,” Pomales says.

Bay Breeze also offers discounts to members of the military and the law enforcement community.

Since opening in North Palms Village in 2004, Bay Breeze has grown to its current seven locations and about 100 employees, according to Barone. The full-service New Tampa location is the largest facility, with 55 employees.

Achieving that growth means investing in people and technology, as well as real estate for locations. The company has an established training program for new employees who may be new to the car wash and lube industry, including certification for technicians through the Automotive Oil Change Association.

Computers track everything from traffic flow through the wash tunnels and chemical usage to sales of wiper blades. That information is even available via mobile devices, so Bay Breeze managers aren’t tethered to a computer to stay on top of things and can be available to maintain the company’s high level of customer service.

When it comes to the actual cleaning of their cars, customers benefit from the latest car wash technology, especially when it comes to protection from the harsh environment of Florida’s sunshine and thunderstorms. Various sealants and protectants are available, including a new Nano-polymer protective sealant. Barone credits using the premium product with keeping his car’s appearance at its best.

“I personally have not had my vehicle hand-waxed in over two years, but because I use our Nano product an average of once a week, it still looks like I just drove it off the showroom floor,” he says.

Barone adds that people need to wash their cars more often in the summer to combat the effects of both the sun’s ultraviolet radiation and the wearing effects of rain on a car’s finish.

While Bay Breeze provides car wash and lube services, Barone says what the company really is offering its customers is actually much more valuable.

“It comes down to time,” Barone says. “Time is something you can’t get back. I can take 30 minutes in my driveway or three minutes in a car wash.”

Bay Breeze Car Wash & Lube is open daily, with hours varying by location. You can learn more by visiting BayBreezeCarWash.com or contacting one of the following locations:  New Tampa – 17501 N. Palm Village Pl., 615-1333; Bruce B. Downs – 20306 Trout Creek Dr., 973-0033; Land O’Lakes – 24124 S.R. 54, 949-7297.