Crystal Car Wash Owner Searches for Octopus Statue
The search is on for an eight-legged smiling creature, one that is steeped in Crystal car wash history.
Jason Ecker is on a mission to locate the original 6-foot tall Octopus sculpture for his new car wash business at Douglas Drive and West Broadway. That location has had a car wash for more than 50 years, and originally was an Octopus franchise. The new owner, Alberto Bertomeu, took great pains to secure the naming rights to the defunct brand.
Ecker, the general manager, is now trying to find as many pieces of Octopus memorabilia as he can find for the new Octopus Car Wash.
“You could ask anybody that’s come through here for an extended period of time, they still refer to it as the old Octopus,” Ecker. “So it was a very good opportunity to bring the name back.”
photo of a former Octopus Car Wash in Madison, Wis.
At its height the Octopus Car Wash chain had 30 car washes in eight states. Ecker made it his personal quest to find the old Octopus, or at least one of the ones that stood outside every original location.
The new Crystal car wash is getting a facelift, including adding a detailing center.
