Best Amenities At a Car Wash

Gas House Express

A A A Comments (0) Wednesday, Sep 26 2001

Maybe you don't feel the need to watch an auto on closed-circuit TV as it goes through the car wash. But if you wanted to do that, as you ate a White Castle cheeseburger or a 25-cent bag of theater-style popcorn, you could at Gas House Express Car Wash, at the corner of the Forest Park Parkway and Vandeventer Avenue. Walk into the expansive food shop, and you're greeted by a life-size cardboard stand-up of the Three Stooges with Moe, Larry and Curly labeled "In charge of gas prices." Go back to the freezer, and you can get frozen sliders or a pizza-for-one you can microwave on the spot, or buy a Wolfgang Puck pizza to take home. Rolling Rock 12-packs in cans were going for $6.99 in August, and that's just part of the diverse beer selection. The eclectic mix includes Te-Amo cigars, several rows of car air fresheners, gourmet potato chips and, of course, cable-equipped TVs hanging from the ceiling, tuned to CNN, ESPN and the car wash. There's also an observation window next to the stand-up tables so you can eat, drink and watch cars roll through as they're sprayed and buffed. A penguin motif extends to a fountain in the lobby. The only drawback to the place is they don't sell lottery tickets. Maybe that way customers can save money for shinin' up their machines. Gimmicks include free car washes for green cars on St. Patrick's Day and red cars on Valentine's Day. One more good thing: There's free air for your tires outside.