HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —Work has begun on transforming the old Otto’s restaurant into a car wash on Route 611.
Pete’s Express Car Wash will replace the eatery at 233 Easton Rd., near the entrance of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, township officials said. See the artist rendering below.
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Demolition started this month with site work expected to be completed by November, Township Manager Bill Walker said.
The car wash is expected to open in the spring/summer of 2024.
Otto’s Brauhaus was a German-American Restaurant located on Easton Road in Horsham. Otto’s had been in existence since the 1930s when the Hockel Family first opened its doors.
Otto and Marie Fritz purchased the restaurant from the Hockel Family many years ago and then sold it to Mary Dare, a longtime township community advocate who died in February.
“Dare found her true calling in 1985 when she purchased Otto’s Brauhaus in Horsham, where she fostered a community of staff and patrons alike. Otto’s was her second home, and she thrived in the hustle & bustle of it all,” Walker said.
Dare sold the business in 2007.
When the property and business went on the market in 2019-2020, the township hoped it would remain as a restaurant and bring back the former traditional German-American fare but that did not happen, Walker said.
In 2020, the property went under an agreement of sale to Pete’s Car Wash, with a car wash being permitted under township zoning, Walker said.
The owners of Pete’s Car Wash met with surrounding neighbors, the owners of the hotel next door, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and township officials and worked through the land development process.
Walker said some items addressed during the review were stormwater management control, traffic safety, and improvements such as landscaping for buffering nearby homes and sidewalks and pedestrian lamps for walkability.
In 2022, Pete’s Car Wash received final approval for its land development plan, Walker said.
With more than 50 years of combined car wash experience, Pete’s sets the industry standard for professional, environmentally friendly car washing services.
Pete’s also has another location on Route 611 (Easton Road) in nearby Warrington.
(Horsham Township)