The interior of an automated car wash operated by Brown Bear Car Wash seen in 2021 2000s īy 2007, the company operated 38 car washes, some of which included gas stations and convenience stores. Odermat reintroduced military-style practices and uniforms, which caused some staff to quit, though in several cases long-time employees who had left the company during Tosco management returned. Following disagreements with Tosco over business practices-including its decision to abandon the chain's employee uniforms-Odermat terminated the leases and reassumed control of the company in 2003. In 1995, Odermat leased the Brown Bear chain to Tosco Corporation.
According to a 1984 reader survey by the Seattle Times on the "Best Car Wash" in the region, the "pink elephant and the brown bear fought this one out, but the elephant came out in the wash". ĭuring the 1980s, Brown Bear's major competitor in the Puget Sound region's car wash market was another local chain, Elephant Car Wash, with Brown Bear primarily offering self-service washes and Elephant providing automatic washes. A 2005 newspaper report characterized Brown Bear management as displaying a "clear, concise, authoritarian ethic". Staff were expected to address Odermat with the honorific " Mister", a style which he reciprocated when waiting on customers, employees were required to assume a position of military parade rest uniforms consisting of white shirts, black slacks, and black neckties were required.
Under Odermat's leadership, the company became known for its formal employer–employee relations. Odermat subsequently expanded with the opening of additional locations in Western Washington and Spokane. Marine, with a single location in Seattle. Brown Bear Car Wash was founded in 1957 by Victor Odermat, a former U.S.
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