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Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash profile
Ownership · Private equity

Who owns Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash?

Data updated · May 24, 2026

Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash is owned by Golden Gate Capital. Recapitalized by Golden Gate Capital in Dec 2020; founder Scott Blackstock stayed on. It runs 317 Express Tunnel locations across 32 states.

Structure
Private equity
Locations
317
32 states
Format
Express Tunnel
Franchise?
No

The owner

Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash is owned by Golden Gate Capital (private equity). Recapitalized by Golden Gate Capital in Dec 2020; founder Scott Blackstock stayed on.

Is Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash a franchise?

Not based on the data — Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash has no franchise-loan footprint in SBA records, consistent with a company-owned chain. There's no Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash franchise to buy; ownership rests with Golden Gate Capital.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash ownership

Who owns Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash?

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Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash is owned by Golden Gate Capital. Recapitalized by Golden Gate Capital in Dec 2020; founder Scott Blackstock stayed on. It runs 317 Express Tunnel locations across 32 states.

Is Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash a franchise?

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Based on WashIndex's data, Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash does not appear to operate as a franchise — there's no SBA franchise-loan activity recorded under the brand. It runs as a company-owned chain (317 Express Tunnel locations across 32 states).

Is Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash publicly traded or privately held?

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Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash is privately held — owned by the private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital.

How many locations does Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash have?

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Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash operates 317 Express Tunnel locations across 32 states in the WashIndex dataset, with a weighted-average Google rating of 4.56★ across 139,247 reviews.

How we determine this

WashIndex classifies ownership structure from data it can verify: franchise status from SBA loan records, acquisition signatures from customer-review text, and footprint from the per-location index. A specific corporate or private-equity owner is named only where it is publicly established — we do not infer or guess parent companies. Where ownership isn't disclosed, the page says so.

See the full Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash operating profile and its closest competitors.