Shop Look: Jiffy Lube of Fredericksburg, Va.

July 30, 2021
This shop underwent a big renovation to make way for office space above and customer amenities below.

SHOP STATS: Jiffy Lube  Location: Fredericksburg, Va.  Operator: CB Squared Services  Average Monthly Car Count: 35  Staff Size: 12 (including office staff)  Shop Size: 3 Bays 

The Right Fit

This Jiffy Lube franchise has been in business since 1983 and has grown to 18 service centers with additional auto glass and car wash segments. The company is also a Mighty distributor.

This building was a Texaco lube shop to start, according to General Manager Jason Russ. CB Squared acquired it and started operations as a Jiffy Lube in 1998 as a two-bay shop.

“At the time, our (company) headquarters was at an office condo at Manassas, Va.,” Russ says. “It was around the late 2000s that we were outgrowing the space.”

They decided to build an addition at this location and add office space for the company’s home base, bringing them close to the action. In May 2011, the work was finished and they moved into the office above the lube bays.

Careful Placement

The remodel was extensive and added a new three-bay shop to the side of the existing two-bay facility. The office space sits atop the new shop space, with 2,500 square feet of working room.

The auto glass business occupies the older, two-bay shop space.

With the renovation, the company was able to choose where key equipment would be placed. Russ says they put some of the larger items in the basement, which takes up space below but makes for a great, open upper bay area. It also reduces compressor noise.

“It worked out very well, frees up usable space for workers and cars and keeps compressors going all day long out of the customer’s ear as well,” he says.

Entry Access

Some small design choices helped to enhance the customer experience. One such choice was to make the building a bit deeper.

“To accommodate the office space above, the depth of the building was extended,” Russ says. “So one neat thing that we did was that the pit openings aren’t the full depth of the building.”

That means that for the customer, there’s a lot of lead space in the bay to drive up before actually being over the pit. It makes for a comfortable, weather-free entry into the lobby space.