New Orleans chain to enter Columbus with 5-minute oil changes

The Columbus oil change market looks to become more competitive with Louisiana-based Take 5 Oil Change planning a location on Veterans Parkway.

The company, headquartered in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, has its sights on a small piece of property at 6002 Veterans Parkway, with Iron Point Development working to help Take 5 get the location up and running.

The first step came during a recent rezoning meeting before the Columbus Planning Advisory Commission, with the developers seeking to rezone just under a half acre from “neighborhood commercial” to “general commercial.” The commission approved the rezoning request, which moves the case before Columbus Council at a future date.

The property targeted by Take 5 most recently was home to sewing and salon businesses. It is located adjacent to Columbus Travel and across from the new Keller Williams real-estate center that includes a Dunkin’ Donuts store and the coming Shrimp Basket restaurant.

Columbus attorney George Mize, representing the developer and oil change company, said during the commission meeting that once construction begins it should take about four months to get the 1,700-square-foot Take 5 building completed.

City planner Kevin Herrit said a review shows the oil change business will not impact negatively the stretch of Veterans Parkway near where Take 5 looks to locate, which is near the intersection of Ogletree Street. That piece of Veterans Parkway sees about 27,900 vehicle trips per day, with the oil change operation projected to add just over 100 trips to that, he said.

Mize said the business should generate about $100,000 a year in sales tax receipts for the city, which he said would be an improvement over the previous businesses there. There also are aesthetic considerations, he said.

“This is a true win-win situation,” he said. “We’re able to go in and take out an old, very unattractive building which is in substantial need of maintenance and repair, and put in a brand new, very attractive development. In return, my client gets a very good location with excellent exposure to Veterans Parkway.”

Take 5 would be competing with a Grease Monkey outlet just a couple of doors north of the projected building site. Mize said the business model of the Louisiana chain is to keep customers inside their cars and literally try to get oil changes completed in five minutes. There also is little to no spontaneous selling of additional services, he noted.

“Our service is a quick get in, get out, get what you want, not be upsold type business and you don’t ever get out of your car,” Mize said. “The bottom line is I think competition’s good to keep prices low.”

Take 5 Oil Change, founded in 1984, now operates nearly 80 locations, most of them clustered in southern Louisiana, stretching east to Pensacola, in and around Houston, Texas, and clusters from north Atlanta up to the North Carolina markets of Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham. The closest to Columbus is in Montgomery, Ala.

Grease Monkey is the largest quick-change oil change operator in the local market, with Express Oil Change, Precision Tune, Pennzoil offering quick service as well.

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 1:47 PM with the headline "New Orleans chain to enter Columbus with 5-minute oil changes."