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Clayton Wall brings a Tommy’s Express Car Wash to Everett

Published 1:30 am Monday, January 19, 2026

By Randy Diamond

Tommy’s Express Car Wash owners Clayton Wall, left, and Phuong Truong, right, outside of their car wash on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
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Tommy’s Express Car Wash owners Clayton Wall, left, and Phuong Truong, right, outside of their car wash on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Tommy’s Express Car Wash owners Clayton Wall, left, and Phuong Truong, right, outside of their car wash on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
A car goes through Tommy’s Express Car Wash on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
A person touches one of the spinning cleaners at Tommy’s Express Car Wash on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
An Everett mural scene inside of Tommy’s Express Car Wash on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Phuong Truong shows where water drains inside Tommy’s Express Car Wash on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

EVERETT — Car wash franchise Tommy’s Express Car Wash has opened in Everett on Evergreen Way, its first Washington state location.

Local franchise owner Clayton Wall said the grand opening on Friday followed two months of soft-opening operations.

Tommy’s Express Car Wash has 270 locations nationwide, its website shows.

Wall made the transformation from a software salesperson to a car wash owner after moving to Washington state from New York City at the end of 2019.

His first visit to a car wash was in Bothell. He said he wasn’t impressed by its 1950s-style car wash, its bland, windowless car wash building, or the sticker he had to put on his front window to show he was a member of the car wash club.

Wall said the whole process from choosing to buy a franchise from Tommy’s Express Car Wash, based in Holland, Michigan, to acquiring the land for a location, construction and obtaining city permits took five years.

His business partner is Phuong Troung, a former colleague in software sales.

Wall won’t say how much he and Troung invested in the franchise, but he said it’s an expensive proposition.

“When I realized how much it cost to build a modern car wash, I wasn’t anywhere close to be able to afford it,” he said.

Wall said he raised additional capital from a group of investors.

The car wash, with its red-and-white building and matching red car brushes, stands out amid a crowded sea of fast-food franchises, gas stations and shopping centers on Evergreen Way.

Wall said he hopes customers are attracted by the upbeat facade but, more importantly, by features like license plate recognition — so no sticker is required for the wash club — high-powered vacuums and floor mat washers.

Wall said it was a long process to open the car wash, but he’s happy it’s open. He said he hopes to open more Tommy’s locations in the local area.

But, for now, he’s hoping for a lot more sunny days in Everett.

Randy Diamond: 425-339-3097; randy.diamond@heraldnet.com.

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