Former Lone Star Steakhouse to be demolished for car wash

July 7, 2020

The former Lone Star Steakhouse restaurant is coming down.

A demolition permit has been taken out for the building at 1801 W. 41st St.

Lone Star closed in early 2017, and the building has been vacant since then.

Last week, the City Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for a car wash on the site.

Rendering by RSArchitects.

Blue Tide Car Wash is owned by Olson Oil Co. and recently opened its first location in Brookings.

It promotes itself as “an eco-friendly, high-end, express tunnel car wash that provides a clean car and a smile on your face in less than three minutes,” using Rain-X, Blue Coral Triple Foam and Armor All Ceramic Sealant products.

There are three pricing packages, including unlimited monthly washes, pre-purchase specials and wash cards. Vacuums, air blowers and dash wipes are free.

The Sioux Falls location also will be a tunnel car wash with 10 vacuums for self-service, according to Jeremy Christopherson, an associate at RSArchitects, who spoke at the Planning Commission on the applicant’s behalf.

The new owner plans to add evergreen trees to the location.

“We had a very good meeting (with area property owners). There wasn’t any opposition to the project,” Christopherson said. “We’re planning to scrape the site completely and start over and replace everything.”

Demolition on the 41st Street site is scheduled to start next week, with the car wash scheduled to open next spring.

Blue Tide also plans a second, larger location in Sioux Falls at 57th Street and Sycamore Avenue that has a “coming soon” sign for the car wash and a Get-N-Go gas station and convenience store. That location will break ground early this fall with a summer or fall opening next year.

Other features of the car washes will include a naturally illuminated transparent roof throughout the tunnel, a conveyor belt wide enough for dually trucks and mat washers for the floor of the car. Water goes through a reverse osmosis process to remove 99 percent of minerals and impurities for spot-free rinses, the business said. Water is reclaimed and recycled to significantly reduce the amount used.

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Former Lone Star Steakhouse to be demolished for car wash

The former Lone Star Steakhouse restaurant is coming down.

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