JC’S CAR WASH

ThereisnowhereAlesiaRitenourwould rather have her car cleaned and detailed than JC’s Car Wash — and for good reason. Located on Walnut Hill west of Audelia, JC’s is a neighborhood favorite in Lake Highlands. Ritenour is a longtime customer, but her respect for the establishment reached a new level a few years ago after she lost a diamond earring. “I searched my house and went through everything, and I just couldn’t find it,” she says. Four months went by, and Ritenour forgot all about the earring. She took her car over to JC’s for a wash, and was waiting outside for the employees to finish drying it. An employee beckoned to Ritenour that her car was ready, and as she reached for her keys, she realized that in his hand was the diamond earring. “I was shocked that he found it. It was so honest of him to do that. I was so excited and happy that I hugged him,” Ritenour says. “Later, I just kept thinking that the experience really says something about the people they hire at JC’s.” The car wash has been a neighborhood fixture for years, and for the past several years, the Carbajal family has owned it. Jennifer Carbajal has spent several summers and afternoons working at the family business and says she and her mother, father and sister “like to make people feel good.” It was true for Ritenour, who has told everyone her story and added to the number of JC’s devotees, including a sister and nephew who drive to our neighborhood from Highland Park for a cleaning. —RACHEL

RICE