| Texas Convenience Store Chain Captures the Crown in the 11th Annual Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom Contest |
| Cincinnati, OH/New Braunfels, TX – America voted and agrees that the New Braunfels Buc-ee’s has a bathroom as big as Texas and some of the most spotless loos in the Lone Star State, making this pit stop perfect for any road warrior and fit for a king. With 83 toilets to choose from, guests even get their very own throne! |
| “Buc-ee’s brand of convenience stores knows firsthand that clean bathrooms mean big business,” Cintas’ Market Development Representative, Gary Gonzaba told onlookers as he presented Buc-ee’s co-owner, Arch “Beaver” Aplin, with the top honor during a media event this afternoon at the New Braunfels Buc-ee’s. |
| High-resolution images of today’s award presentation at Buc-ee’s as well as photos of all ten finalists are available at: www.bestrestroom.com/us/press/2012-finalists-images.asp. |
| Buc-ee’s was a fan favorite in Cintas’ annual contest beating out the other top nine contenders to take the crown in this year’s competition. America voted Arizona’s Liberty Market the No. 2 place to go No. 1. Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago took third, and California’s Hollywood Bowl followed close in fourth-place. |
| The 68,000-square-foot service stop plays host to thousands of vehicles a day with passengers filling up on fuel, grabbing food and using the facilities. |
| “We invite everyone to stop in to try out our award winning restrooms,” said Buc-ee’s co-owner, Beaver Aplin. “Maybe Buc-ee’s will be our city’s new claim to fame, the ‘Taj Ma-Stall’ of Texas … a tourist attraction in and of itself,” Aplin said jokingly. |
| “Buc-ee’s has been a welcome addition to our community by creating new jobs and generating hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for our City,” said Rusty Brockman, Director of Economic Development at the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce and one of dozens of City officials who attended Monday’s award ceremony. |
| “At the core, this contest is intended to recognize public restroom facilities that ‘serve’ local citizens, and Buc-ee’s is the essence of hospitality when you consider it’s an easily accessible, family friendly, well-maintained, convenient and free facility,” said Cintas’ Senior Marketing Manager, John Engel. |
| Customers who have made a beeline for the bathroom at Buc-ee’s say this Texas-based business flushes the competition when it comes to clean. “You gotta see it to believe it,” said one Canyon Lake resident and Chamber of Commerce member who nominated Buc-ee’s for this year’s contest. “Not only do they have a great atmosphere, the restroom facilities are amazing…they are spacious, uber clean and there are plenty for everyone… I have even changed clothes there without worrying about yuckiness,” said Kelly R., a Houston resident who also submitted Buc-ee’s for consideration this year. |
| The 2012 contest attracted nominations from a wide range of businesses, including restaurants, hotels, concert venues, football stadiums, night clubs and museums. Ten finalists were selected based on cleanliness, visual appeal, innovation, functionality and unique design elements. |
| Thousands of votes were cast online through October, which produced the following results: |
| First Place: Buc-ee’s New Braunfels, Texas |
| Second Place: Liberty Market Gilbert, Arizona |
| Third Place: Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago, Illinois |
| Fourth Place: Hollywood Bowl Hollywood, California |
| Fifth Place: Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia |
| *Mie N Yu, an Asian fusion restaurant known for its elaborate decor just as much as its food, has closed after nearly 10 years on M Street in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC. Due to the closing, Mie N Yu is no longer eligible to place in this year’s contest. |
| Buc-ee’s and Liberty Market will receive the coveted America’s Best Restroom winner and runner-up plaque of recognition from Cintas and secure their place in the America’s Best Restroom Hall of Fame. |
| To view photos of previous winners, visit the America’s Best Restroom Hall of Fame on the contest website at www.bestrestroom.com. |
| Cintas launched the America’s Best Restroom Contest in 2002 to honor those businesses across the country that place hygiene and style at the top of their priority lists. “This contest is undoubtedly fun, but it also conveys a critical message that restroom hygiene matters for good health and good business and proprietors recognize the parallel between clean washrooms and customer retention,” said Engel. “We’re looking forward to celebrating our 12th year in 2013 and invite the public to nominate their favorite facility online now for consideration in next year’s competition,” he added. |
| For more information or to set up an interview, please contact the Survey Editor, Sabrina Zimring, at 757-338-7731. |
| About Cintas Corporation |
| Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout North America. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first aid, safety, fire protection products and services and document management services for more than 900,000 businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
For more information about Cintas products and services, visit us at www.cintas.com. |