Businessman John Borek never expected a giant Tyrannosaurus rex in his front yard to spark a legal fight.
Borek said his homeowners association threatened to sue him over the animatronic dinosaur, which he considered a fun Halloween decoration. Instead of getting rid of it, he found a new home for the towering attraction.
He bought a South Congress car wash in 2015 and transformed it into what is now Jurassic Car Wash, one of Austin’s most recognizable roadside landmarks.
“The neighborhood association threatened to sue me,” he said. “I wanted the car wash to be fun and different from others. The solution was obvious, and that’s how Jurassic Car Wash was born.”
Borek, who owned a body shop for 30 years, said the dinosaurs became more than a novelty. They turned into an effective marketing tool and gave parents an inexpensive way to entertain their children while getting their cars washed.
The 24-hour car wash features four wash bays and five animatronic dinosaurs, including a pterodactyl perched on the roof and a Tyrannosaurus rex standing at the entrance to the automatic wash tunnel that sprays water at passing vehicles.
Borek said business increased significantly after installing the dinosaurs. Eight years later, he sold Jurassic Car Wash to new owners.
“[I’m] 60 years old. It’s a good business, but there’s always something that needs to be fixed,” Borek said. “And as you get older, you don’t want to work every single day. They also offered me a lot of money for it.”
The new owners said they were attracted to the business because it had already become an Austin landmark.
“What we loved is that we think the name is fun and it’s good for kids,” said Vincent Korth, who bought the car wash with his business partner Gavin Greenblum. “It’s kind of a generational thing. We’re younger guys. We’re in our 30s. John is kind of like passing the torch to us.”
The car wash’s best-known location is at 4809 S. Congress Ave. in South Austin, where five animatronic dinosaurs greet customers. The business also operates additional locations in Austin and South Texas.
And the dinosaurs? Will they ever go extinct?
“We both mutually believed in serving Austin and all of the people that liked to go there and continuing the legacy of having a car wash there,” Korth said. “We’re keeping little jewels in Austin that have always been there.”