Tommy's Express Starts Happy Valley Build As Oregon Becomes Its 38th State

Tommy's Express Car Wash has started construction on its first Happy Valley, Oregon location, giving the express car wash franchise a market-entry story that pushes the brand into a 38th U.S. state. For franchise buyers, the announcement is a useful reminder that service categories built around real estate, technology and repeat visits continue to expand even as construction and land costs pressure other food and retail concepts.

The Happy Valley project is a ground-up build, which matters because express car wash economics rely heavily on site, access and traffic patterns. A new tunnel needs the right frontage, stack space, and vehicle flow to move members through quickly. That is why brands like Tommy's Express treat state-by-state expansion as more than a map exercise. Each new market has to combine population density, commuter behavior and available real estate.

Tommy's Express positions itself around a technology-forward customer experience, including license plate recognition for unlimited members, mobile app tools, and consistent brand presentation across locations. Those features help create the recurring revenue that franchise buyers care about most. A monthly membership customer is worth much more over time than a one-off wash purchase, but only if the local operator delivers speed, cleanliness and reliability.

The Oregon entry also fits a broader franchise pattern. Express car wash has attracted multi-unit developers who like the model's payment structure, defined labor requirements and steady member behavior. Franchisees are often looking for concepts that can be replicated across territories with a repeatable playbook. Adding a 38th state gives Tommy's Express another proof point that it can support development outside its earlier core markets.

For prospective franchisees, the Happy Valley build is worth watching as an execution story. Groundbreaking is only the start. Membership acquisition, staffing, uptime and community integration will determine whether the location becomes a strong local performer or just another new tunnel. If the brand can convert Oregon's first location into a busy membership base, the state entry becomes a springboard for further multi-unit growth in the Pacific Northwest.

The wider franchise-market takeaway is that service franchising is not a single category. Home services, pet care, fitness, wellness and vehicle services each have their own economics, but they share a common trait in 2026: buyers are looking for recurring revenue, defined operating models and franchise systems that can support disciplined multi-market development. Tommy's Express is trying to be one of those systems, and Oregon is its latest test.