Morristown Business Switches Owner, Gets Facelift

Paul Ritter grew up in the car wash business and after a few years working in New York City in finance, he’s returned to his roots.

Ritter took over the former Sparkle Car Wash and has renamed it Morristown Car Wash. Born and raised in New Jersey, Ritter grew up in West Orange and Livingston.

“My father, from Newark, opened the Livingston Car Wash in 1966. By working all aspects of the business throughout high school and college, I have a unique outlook on what it is to have a great experience getting your car washed,” said Ritter. “I personally have over 20 years in the industry having owned and operated Livingston Car Wash and have now brought my business plan to my home town of Morristown.”

He moved to Morristown in 1997 “because I love the tight-knit sense of community that this little city has to offer. I love the fact that Morristown is full of entrepreneurs and small business owners much like me.

“Having commuted past Sparkle Car Wash for years, I would think about the possibilities of services I could provide out of the space and when the opportunity arose, I jumped on it,” he said.  

The first day of Morristown Car Wash was July 18.

“I'm a people person and I enjoy the personal interaction with my customer base.  After only a week of being open, the reaction that we have received from people has been nothing less than sensational and we've only just begun,” said Ritter.

The place is open and Ritter is inviting the community to come in and meet him while the renovations are going on.

“After taking over, our first two weeks were dedicated to repairing and replacing machinery, and seeing how clean the cars come out, let us know that we are doing it right,” he said.  

Their next plans are to completely remodel the appearance of the building, waiting area and store.  Ritter brought his manager Bryan Katz here with him from Livingston who also has 10-plus years of experience in addition to his background in customer service.  

“I couldn't be more excited about our expansion into Morristown and my new role as a business owner in the community that I call home.”

Ritter also recently acquired Morris County Car Wash on Ridgedale Avenue and will be opening a hand wash at that location.

Morristown car wash is located at 285 east Hanover Ave. in Morristown 973-539-4895 and Morris County Hand Wash is located at 160 Ridgedale Ave. in Morristown.