Car wash under new ownership

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    by Kim Cameron

    Nancy and Derek Dulac are the new owners of the Kremmling car wash, aptly named K Wash.
    Both Dulacs are no strangers to Grand County and welcomed the opportunity to own the small business.
    Derek grew up in Parshall and is a West Grand graduate. He currently owns and operates Projects West LLC where he does excavation during the summer months ranging from river work, irrigation, retaining walls, tree cleanup, and more. In the winter, he keeps busy doing a 70-home plow route in the Tabernash area.
    Nancy originally came to Grand County two decades ago to work at Bar Lazy J. After falling in love with the area, she bought her first house in Parshall in 2005. Since then, she has done massage, Granby Grooming, and worked in several restaurants.
    Laughingly she says, “It’s been said that I’ve either given you a massage, served you a drink, or groomed your dog! Sometimes all three!”
    In the last 4 years, she has established herself in her real estate business and uses her networking skills to sell homes in Kremmling, Parshall, Hot Sulphur, and Granby.
    Incidentally, the little home she originally purchased in 2005 was the beginning of the couple’s car wash adventure.
    Nancy sold her “little house” and wanted to reinvest, and admittedly, the couple enjoys a fixer-upper and couldn’t overlook the potential of the car wash.
    Derek says of the project, “We are hard-headed and like to purchase fixer-uppers. We can’t stop getting into projects.”
    They took ownership of the car wash during January’s cold spell where temperatures were routinely below zero.
    Nancy laughs, “We closed on the car wash on January 3 this year, when it was negative 24 degrees! All of January was very cold, and not the most ideal time to take over a new business. Being a hot water car wash, and having heated bay floors, it was a pricey operation, and I was a little worried about what we had just gotten ourselves into.”
    Undaunted, the couple continued to invest in the car wash and update equipment over the last six months.
    Noticeable improvements include new pumps that have increased pressure in both bays, new hog hair brushes that are softer than plastic, a new mat holder in the east bay, and a new foaming system.
    Of the new foaming system Dulacs commented, “The largest expense has been the new foaming system to bring the car wash up to date. It provides the pre-soak, bug cleaner, and tire/engine cleaner. And in the fall, the bug remover will change over to mag chloride remover.”
    The couple has also invested in new signage. “Triple V Designs built an LED-lit sign for us, so you can see it from Hwy 40.”
    Interestingly, since the couple created a Yelp page for the car wash, many people click on directions to the car wash.
    Located at 1103 Eagle Avenue, Nancy surmises, “Since it’s located east of the intersection, I suspect there are plenty of new people to the community that don’t have a reason to drive past it! I am very surprised at how many people have clicked on the directions to the place.”
    Yet, the car wash sits at the entrance of the Kremmling Fairgrounds which is often the center of events in Kremmling, and Dulacs take note of this saying, “We would love to make it beautiful, or at least an asset to the community. It’s on the main drive to the rodeo grounds, which is the heart of the Kremmling community.”
    The couple also wants to make changes that will benefit their customers and needs their feedback. They reflect, “We want to keep upgrading things, but also need to know what people would use the most. Should we get a combo vacuum and carpet cleaner? Or should we put money into an air dryer?
    “We also keep getting asked about putting in a self dog wash. We have also been asked to put in a 3rd outdoor bay as a big truck wash… We will see what the future brings, and hopefully, get feedback on what would be the most useful for this community.”
    One thing they know they are committed to is keeping the car wash clean! They clean it daily or more if needed.
    And the community has taken notice, “Kremmling has been amazing to us. Someone always thanks us or compliments the work we do, and having it noticed and appreciated is awesome. So thank you Kremmling.”

    To contact the Dulacs – Call (970) 531-2635

    photo by Kim Cameron
    Derek and Nancy Dulac recently updated signage at the car wash. The new sign was made by Triple V Designs.
    Derek and Nancy show off the new mats in the east bay with their daughter, Eira.