Living the Dream: Ollie Wash fulfills Reames' longtime goal

Keith Lawrence, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
·2 min read

Jun. 4—Some kids dream of being firemen, policemen, doctors or nurses.

Not Levi Reames.

He dreamed of owning his own car wash.

And in November 2019, he achieved his dream, opening Ollie Wash (named for one of his daughters) at 3850 Frederica St.

This year, he broke ground on a second location in Henderson that should open in about a year.

And Reames has a couple of other locations in the pipeline.

He and his wife, Jamie, came to Owensboro from Kokomo, Indiana, in the fall of 2007, when they bought the Owensboro Comfort Keepers franchise.

In 2008, it was named Kentucky's small business of the year.

"We bought into a Comfort Keepers franchise in Kokomo" as minority owners, Reames said, "but we wanted to own our own. The closest we could buy was in Owensboro."

That was 15 years ago.

"We love Owensboro," Reames said. "My dad is moving here too."

Ollie Wash opened in November 2019.

"Right before COVID," Reames said. "We were deemed an essential service and allowed to stay open. It was scary, but it helped catapult us, because this was a lot of people's getaway from it all."

Riding in their cars through a 150-foot tunnel with clear sides, a high clear ceiling, "an LED light show within a perfectly choreographed dance of soap and water" and fragrances being pumped in was relaxing in a tense time, he said.

Birds, pollen and bugs all mess up cars and send people to the car wash, Reames said.

But he has a deal for people who like to keep their cars clean and shiny.

For the price of two washes, people can go through the car wash every day of the month, Reames said.

The packages are named for his children.

The Ollie is $22 ($43.99 per month), the Link is $17 ($33.99 per month), the Royce is $12 ($23.99 per month) and the Ila is $7.

"It's hard to hold prices down," Reames said. "The cost of tire shine has tripled in three years. But so far, we have."

He said he loves Frederica Street.

And when Ellis Park opens its off-track betting parlor in Towne Square Mall, Reames said, he expects traffic on Frederica to pick up.

Ollie Wash includes 24 vacuum stations and air hoses to blow the water off the car or dust off the dash.

Reames said he has 12 employees at Ollie Wash.

"They are the backbone of the place," he said.

The Ollie Wash website lists vehicles that should not use the wash — things like the Hummer H1, classic vehicles and vehicles with racks of any kind.

270-691-7301 klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com