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OptSpot's Levi McClendon Buys a Florida Car Wash So Operators Don't Have to Be the Test Case
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Executive Express Car Wash in Santa Rosa Beach becomes F4 Wash Club, OptSpot's live R&D wash
SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 12, 2026. For almost seven years, OptSpot has helped car wash operators grow their text clubs, sell memberships and bring customers back. Every new tool came with the same hard question: which operator will try it first?
Now OptSpot has its own wash to try it on. In October, OptSpot Founder and CEO Levi McClendon bought Executive Express Car Wash, a four-year-old tunnel on 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, a few minutes from his house. The wash is being rebranded as F4 Wash Club. It will be OptSpot's R&D wash, where new tools and strategies get tested before they reach a customer's wash.
"Operators ask us all the time what really works. Now we get to prove it on our own wash before we ask them to try it," McClendon said. "We'll share the numbers, so operators can see what moves the needle and where to spend their time."
What OptSpot will test
● The pay station pitch: what actually gets the most text club opt-ins
● A text club built exactly the way OptSpot teaches its customers
● Loyalty, fundraising and secret shopper programs, plus POS integrations
● Organic social media built around a local face, not a logo
OptSpot will share the results publicly, so operators can see the real numbers before they make a change at their own wash.
"Some of our customers raise their hand to test new things every time, and we're grateful for them," said Josh Taylor, CMO of OptSpot. "Now we can work out the kinks on our wash first and hand operators something that's already proven. We'll also learn firsthand what operators deal with outside of marketing. That makes us better at serving them."
The first 30 days
The previous owner was absentee. McClendon found a wheel cleaner that wasn't spinning, sprayers that weren't spraying and chemicals that didn't have time to work before the rinse. The team swapped out the chemicals, put the pit on a regular cleaning schedule and cleaned the whole site top to bottom. They haven't painted anything yet, and the wash already looks new.
"Most customers never notice when a brush isn't spinning," McClendon said. "It's still our job to make sure every car gets what the customer paid for."
Coming next
● Moving the conveyor about five feet forward to fix a tight two-point turn
● New vacuums, shade canopies, paint and signage
● A blackout tunnel with a light show from G&G Lighting, plus new exterior lighting
● A members-only coffee and water bar
● Full F4 Wash Club branding, expected by the first of the year
A club, on purpose
F4 stands for faith, family, fitness, and forte, the four things McClendon tries to live by. He chose "club" over "subscription" on purpose. Members will get perks other customers can see but can't have, starting with the coffee bar.
"A subscription is Netflix. You pay, and everybody gets the same thing," McClendon said. "A club is a Gym. Members feel like they belong to something and they get access to something other people don't. I want every customer to leave feeling like this was the best part of their day."
McClendon's cousin, Cey Decker, moved to the area to run the wash day to day. Tyler Slaughter of [Camel Express] has been a helpful advisor on equipment and layout since before the purchase.
Follow the journey on Instagram at @f4washclub, which launched Nov. 12, and @optspot. McClendon and Taylor talk through the first month on an upcoming episode of the International Carwash Association's Car Wash Exchange podcast.
About OptSpot
OptSpot is a done-with-you marketing company built for car washes. It serves more than 500 car wash operators and 2,000+ locations. Learn more at optspot.com.