It’s called Fast Freddy’s, but business partners Freddy Rather and Timothy Hogue have hardly been in a hurry to bring their high-tech car washing concept to Bowling Green.

Rather, chairman of Farmers National Bank before its 2019 merger with FirstBank, and Hogue, who has built car washes in multiple states as CEO of Bowling Green’s Modernwash company, have been deliberate in entering the local market.

They’ve tested their brand in other markets, but now these entrepreneurs are looking to clean up by opening a pair of Fast Freddy’s in Bowling Green.

The location at 1124 Fairview Ave., expected to open in July, and another at 2168 Gary Farms Blvd., slated for a fall opening, will join the two Fast Freddy’s stores in Frankfort and another one in Shelbyville.

“We felt like, when we started to expand, why not do it in Bowling Green?” said Rather, who is joined by sons Robert Rather and Geoff Rather in the car wash partnership. “These locations became available, so we felt that this was the time to do it.”

The time and the place.

Freddy Rather said he and Hogue looked at a number of possible locations before deciding on busy Fairview Avenue and the site along the booming Gary Farms Boulevard that he calls a “hidden treasure.”

“We looked at Bowling Green and thought there was plenty of opportunity here,” the elder Rather said. “There has been a lot of growth in Bowling Green over the last few years. We feel like what we have to offer is something that will grow as well.”

What Fast Freddy’s has to offer is some technology that Hogue believes is on the cutting edge of the car wash business.

The two Bowling Green locations are being built at a cost of about $2.5 million each, according to city of Bowling Green building permits, and they will feature some technology developed by Pennsylvania-based Innovative Control Systems that allows for what Hogue calls “targeted cleaning.”

“This equipment scans the vehicle and has a database of all vehicle sizes,” Hogue said. “It uses the amount of water and chemicals needed, so it’s environmentally friendly.”

Bowling Green’s locations will be the first two Fast Freddy’s to use the technology.

“We didn’t use it in Frankfort or Shelbyville, but we saw it and were sold on it,” Freddy Rather said.

Hogue agrees, saying: “I’ve watched it in action, and it’s pretty impressive.”

An architectural and industrial design specialist whose company built the “Soap My Ride” car wash in Bowling Green, Hogue believes the “targeted cleaning” at the new Fast Freddy’s locations will set the business apart.

“You’re not just throwing something at the car haphazardly,” Hogue said.

Although the technology and the brand are just being rolled out in Bowling Green, both Hogue and Freddy Rather are already on the lookout for locations beyond the initial two.

“I think there’s room for more in Bowling Green,” Rather said. “We have two locations already purchased. When we’ll build, I’m not sure.

“We want to do it in a safe way. We want to keep the ‘mom-and-pop’ feel. We don’t want to lose that identity.”

Rather, the namesake of Fast Freddy’s and the model for the red-haired guy driving a Corvette in the company logo, expects the Bowling Green locations to be open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. initially, with some adjustments to those hours during the winter.