The owners of City Cleaners, based in Akron, Ohio, recently opened a 3,000-square-foot vended laundry adjacent to the family’s drycleaning business, which has been in operation for four generations. The brand new Laundromat City is fully attended and equipped with the latest high-speed laundry equipment.
“My family has been in the drycleaning business for 120 years,” said owner Jeff Sitz. “But this is our first vended laundry. We purchased the bank building next to our drycleaning plant, and it made sense to transform it into a vended laundry. That way, the two businesses could share some labor and equipment. The community responded well and we’ve made it really nice.”
To bring the project to fruition, Sitz worked closely with Scott Vlahos of Advantage Equipment, a full-service laundry equipment distributor, headquartered in Akron. Vlahos assisted with laundry design, equipment mix, installation and training.
The renovated building now touts efficient laundry equipment, a wash-dry-fold service and other amenities – including free Wi-Fi access for customers, detergent and snack vending options, flat-screen televisions, and a children’s learning and literacy center. In addition, Laundromat City customers can operate the store’s equipment using debit, credit or loyalty cards.
“Our soft-mount washers definitely set us apart, because they allow for quick processing so that our self-service customers can get in and out in less than an hour,” Sitz explained. “Plus, our big washers are great for cleaning family-sized laundry loads, bulky comforters, sleeping bags and rugs.”
On the full-service side, Laundromat City’s wash-dry-fold service enables customers to drop off laundry for the store’s attendants to process and package. Customers can then return later to pick up their finished laundry – or, if needed, Laundromat City provides a pickup and delivery service.
Laundromat City, which opened for business this past February, has enjoyed healthy growth, according to Sitz.
“Each week is better than the last, and business is still climbing,” he said.
