Robert Washington Drive far enough down Rainier Avenue and you’re likely to pass by an example of one of the south end’s cooler phenomena: the business that is home to a second, dissimilar business. It’s a relatively recent innovation designed to maximize the spending potential of customers whose transactions require a longer stay than that of the average shopper. As such, there are in the Rainer Valley furniture stores that double as Asian BBQ joints, car dealerships that sell espresso and an auto parts emporium where, if so inclined, one can pick up a case (or two) of Miller High Life. The grandaddy of these hybrid enterprises might be Auto Fitness. For the last 20 years, Robert Washington’s hand car wash and detail shop has been a south Seattle mainstay–much to the dismay of the south end neighborhood groups that allege that Washington’s employees are offering more illicit services than a $15 car wash. But it wasn’t until he was a decade in that Washington hit upon the idea to retrofit a portion of the shop as an sandwich stand. Thus, Grubz Grill, as reviewed by Seely, was born. But good ideas beget imitators, who then become competitors, and Washington now has two within close proximity, one of whom is his former wife. Located just north of Auto Fitness, Auto Care Detail (3501 Rainier Avenue South) is part deluxe car wash, part clothing store, and part used car dealership. The cost of a wash and wax–rims included–averages $70, but during happy hour (5:30-7:30, 7 days per week), the BBQ sandwiches are free. Maria Washington opened for business in July after a stint in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She and Robert remain cordial, she says, but she doesn’t at all mind becoming the competition. And like her former husband’s business, Washington’s car salon consists of a large parking lot with a collection of small buildings placed in the center, one of which is a clothing shop. Each morning, she hangs a row of tall white tees on the gates outside, all of them emblazoned with images of Michael Jackson and other screen-prints of the moment. The shirts haven’t caught on yet, she says, but help to attract business, especially during the weekdays when, “sometimes you’ll get chicken, sometimes you’ll get feathers, but you have to do whatever it takes to get those cars in here.”Up the block, David Dumas faces the same imperative. He can be easy to miss, sitting in a plastic lawn chair outside the gates of a small strip of businesses where he rents space. So, he whistles, yells, whatever it takes to catch the attention of cars waiting in traffic on Rainer Ave. Sometimes the tactic works. On this day, however, Dumas, 52, has yet to attract a customer. At $15 per, his price is comparable to the two other hand car washes on this section of Rainier, but unlike the Washingtons, Dumas’ He-Man Car Wash is somewhat dependent upon his fellow tenants for customers. At dusk, both the electronic equipment boutique and recording studio that he shares space with are empty. It’s a symbiotic relationship that hasn’t yet proved profitable for Dumas, but he’s content to ride it out as long as he can keep a roof over his head. Despite the competition, Dumas’ hopes to open two more locations before the year ends. “There’s enough money out here for everyone,” he says, and whistles at a passing car.