Since 2004

About Drew's Car Wash

A vehicle moving through the Drew's Car Wash express tunnel.

2004 Locally owned, one county

Drew's Car Wash is an independently owned express car wash company serving Bryan and College Station, Texas. Drew Congleton founded it in 2004 with two touchless wash bays at his gas station on the corner of University Drive and Highway 6, and built the company's first express tunnel on University Drive in 2009. Drew's now operates seven locations across Brazos County, all opened under the same ownership. It has been voted Best Car Wash in the Brazos Valley every year since 2016 and Best Car Wash in The Eagle's Readers' Choice Awards for six consecutive years.

2 bays The whole business, in 2004

Where it began

It Started With Two Bays Behind a Gas Station

In 2004, Drew Congleton owned a gas station on the corner of University Drive and Highway 6 in College Station. He put in two touchless wash bays.

Twenty-two years on, Drew's Car Wash has seven locations across Bryan and College Station, and Drew still owns it. That last part has become unusual. Most car wash companies this size have been bought by national chains backed by outside capital. Drew's has grown the other direction, adding one location at a time inside a single county.

Two bays, one corner, no tunnel, no membership, no app.

2009

The Decision That Changed Everything

The turn came in 2009.

Touchless bays are thorough but slow, and they only serve one vehicle at a time. Drew built an express tunnel at the University Drive location instead: a conveyor that moves a vehicle through wash, rinse, sealant, and dry in about three minutes, with free vacuums waiting on the other side.

It was a different business model. Speed instead of scarcity, volume instead of margin per car, and amenities given away rather than sold. That tunnel is still running, and it set the pattern for every location built since.

~3 min Through the express tunnel

Free Vacuums waiting on the other side

Growth, one location at a time

Seven Locations, Twenty-Two Years

Each opening followed the growth of Bryan and College Station rather than a corporate expansion plan.

2004

Two touchless bays at Drew's Exxon University Drive and Highway 6
2007

Third touchless bay added
2009

First express tunnel University Drive, College Station
2012

Texas Avenue College Station
2018

Tower Point Highway 6 frontage road, College Station
2021

Texas Avenue Bryan
2022

Wellborn Road College Station
2024

Highway 21 Bryan
2025

Boonville Road Bryan

The Boonville Road opening in July 2025 completed a footprint that now reaches every major corridor in both cities. One membership works at all seven.

Touchless, still

Coming Full Circle

Drew's started as a touchless operation, and touchless never went away.

Our University Drive and Tower Point locations still run touchless bays, now open 24 hours a day (with the exception of 3:30am to 5am for a daily system reset), for drivers with wraps, ceramic coatings, lifted trucks, roof racks, and anything else that belongs nowhere near a conveyor. This fall we are upgrading that touchless equipment with new technology.

Twenty-two years after two bays on a gas station corner, touch free washing is still part of what we do.

Daily system reset

Touchless bays pause from 3:30am to 5am every day for a system reset.

Day to day

How We Operate

The extras are not extras

Vacuums, microfiber towels, all-purpose cleaner, air fragrance, mat beaters, and compressed air come free with every wash, single or membership. Plenty of car washes charge for those. We decided early that a clean exterior and a dirty interior is half a job.

We keep investing in the wash

We recently added nanobubble technology, which drives cleaning solution into surface texture that larger water droplets skip past, and we work with our chemical supplier on wash quality rather than treating it as settled. The equipment keeps changing. The standard does not.

We protect what we use

Water reclamation systems and biodegradable cleaning products at every location.

We hire locally

Our crews are high school and college students from Bryan and College Station, and every team member is trained before working a lot.

Reader-voted

Voted Best, Eleven Years Running

Readers of two separate local publications have voted Drew's the best car wash in the area.

Both are decided by public vote rather than by a panel, which is the part we care about. They are our customers.

2016–2026 Best of the Brazos Valley Run by Brazos Life. Named Best Car Wash every year from 2016 through 2026.
6× The Eagle's Readers' Choice Awards Named Best Car Wash in 2026, its sixth consecutive win.

Reader-voted recognition

Drew's Car Wash has been voted Best Car Wash in the Brazos Valley every year since 2016, and named Best Car Wash in The Eagle's Readers' Choice Awards for six consecutive years, most recently in 2026. Both awards are decided by public vote rather than by a panel. Sources: Best of the Brazos Valley; The Eagle's Readers' Choice, 2026.

Ten miles from campus

Aggieland Is Home

Every Drew's location sits within about ten miles of the Texas A&M campus, on the corridors people here actually drive: University Drive, Texas Avenue in both cities, Highway 6 at Tower Point, Wellborn Road, Highway 21, and Boonville Road.

We know what this climate does to a vehicle. Love bugs twice a year that etch clear coat if the residue sits. Oak and cedar pollen in spring. Summer heat that bakes contaminants into paint. Construction dust along Highway 6 and Wellborn. Building a business around washing cars here means building it around washing them often.

University Drive
Texas Avenue — both cities
Highway 6 at Tower Point
Wellborn Road
Highway 21
Boonville Road

Top-down view of a freshly washed red car.

Questions, answered

Common Questions About Drew's

Who owns Drew's Car Wash?

Drew Congleton, who founded the company in 2004 and still owns it. All seven locations were opened under his ownership.

How long has Drew's Car Wash been in business?

Since 2004, making 2026 its twenty-second year. The first express tunnel opened in 2009.

Is Drew's Car Wash a local business or a chain?

Local and independently owned. Drew's operates seven locations, all within Brazos County, and has never been sold to a national chain or outside investor.

How many Drew's Car Wash locations are there?

Seven. Four in College Station and three in Bryan.

What awards has Drew's Car Wash won?

Best Car Wash in the Best of the Brazos Valley awards every year since 2016, and Best Car Wash in The Eagle's Readers' Choice Awards for six consecutive years. Both are reader-voted.

Is Drew's Car Wash environmentally friendly?

Drew's uses water reclamation systems and biodegradable cleaning products at every location.