The Auto Wash Car Wash on West Main Street Road in the Town of Batavia is holding a three-day grand opening celebration. Today, staff served hot dogs and hamburgers and offered half-price car washes. Tomorrow, Mother's Day, Auto Wash is offering mothers half-price on basic car washes from 10 to 2 p.m.

Top photo, manager Zach Letta and regional manager Greg Farkas.

Tomorrow through Sunday, May 13, is the Grand Opening of the long-awaited Auto Wash Car Wash on West Main Street Road in the Town of Batavia.

You are invited to stop by and say hi and try out the completely refurbished car wash.

Throughout the three-day Grand Opening, all car wash package options will be half price. So the normal price range of $17 to $9 will be $8.50 to $4.50.

On Saturday, there will be free lunches served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- hamburgers, hot dogs and soda pop.

Plus, this Sunday only, which is Mother's Day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. all moms will be able to get a FREE basic car wash!

Look for a prize wheel and plenty of prize giveaways!

The address is 4017 W. Main Street Road. Phone is 219-4431.

Grand Opening hours of operation are Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To learn more about Auto Wash and what it offers, click here.

For The Batavian's original post on the company, click here.

File photo: Greg Farkas, Ryan Schmeer, Bobby Marchenese, and Zach Letta. Letta will manage the Batavia location.

A third-generation carwash operator is breathing new life into a car wash on West Main Street Road, Batavia, that has sat empty and unused for years.

Bobby Marchenese, whose family has long operated a car wash in Canandaigua, said he and his crew are replacing all of the equipment in the car wash with the latest high-tech car-washing machines.

This is the fifth location for Marchenese. Besides Canandaigua, he has locations in Tonawanda and Geneva and will soon open a location in Auburn.

"We had our eye on the market for a while," Marchenese said. "We tried to contact the previous owner several times, no response, then we noticed the for sale sign one day so we called and we were able to put a deal together."

The location operates under the brand name Auto Wash and Marchenese believes he and his team will have the facility ready for its first wash within three weeks.

The car wash will be fully automated. When vehicles pull in, a computer will profile the vehicle's height so the wash area can be adjusted. This eliminates the need to hand-prep the car for the wash. The machines themselves are variable speed with soft starts. All of the lighting is LED.

"We will have the most energy-efficient car wash out there," Marchenese said. 

The end of the wash is fully automated, too.

"With the advanced technology we’ll be using we won’t actually towel dry cars,"  Marchenese said. "We have an automated drying system at the end of the car wash after the blowers, so that will dry the vehicle as it goes through."

Photo: Greg Farkas, Ryan Schmeer, Bobby Marchenese, and Zach Letta. Letta will manage the Batavia location.