Local Entrepreneurs Build Sustainable Alaskan Laundromat, Addressing Arctic Challenges and Community Needs
In the heart of Fairbanks, Alaska, which is well known for evening skies painted brilliant hues by the Northern Lights and lit brightly by the midnight sun, a new beacon – one of community service – has emerged… Fairbanks Laundry.
Founded by Jim and Katie Kelly, along with their business partner Seth Church, the laundromat is more than just a business venture – it’s a testament to perseverance and innovation in meeting the needs of a community.
The story of Fairbanks Laundry, which celebrates its one-year anniversary this month, began with the closure of a 60-year-old laundromat/drycleaning business in Fairbanks called Coin King.
“On a walk around the city with my mom in 2018, we came across the shuttered Coin King building,” explained Jim Kelly, who, with his wife, operates multiple State Farm insurance agencies in Alaska and the state of Washington, thus splitting their time between Fairbanks and Seattle. “I had been gone for most of the spring, and I saw this empty building that I had known all of my life and thought it would be cool to own a laundromat.”
Recognizing the void left by Coin King’s closing, Kelly embarked on a several-year journey, fueled by necessity and ingenuity. And his first call was to Skip Johnson, an old classmate of his mom who owns three laundromats in Washington.
“I called Skip and introduced myself,” Kelly explained. “Skip – along with his brother Jay, daughter BJ, and son Scott – took me under their wing, showing me every aspect of the business, from manufacturer introductions to building layout to business model. The Johnsons were essential to our success and ability to deliver an excellent customer experience.”
The next move was to secure a location, which wasn’t quite so easy.
“My friend Seth Church, who is a contractor, my wife Katie, and I started this process by attempting to buy the vacant Coin King location,” Kelly said. “However, this idea fell through due to DOT eminent domain and DEC/EPA issues, because of the building’s long-time history with drycleaning.”
In 2020, the Kellys and Church tried to purchase a former Pizza Hut restaurant to build their laundromat. Then the pandemic hit.
With COVID raging and the world slightly off the rails at that time, Kelly explained that they eventually backed out of the deal for the Pizza Hut building. However, by then, he already had placed an order with Dexter Laundry for all of the equipment to outfit the building he thought he was going to buy.
“It was a blessing in disguise,” he noted. “Dexter did us a tremendous favor and, because of the circumstances, agreed to hold our order, honor 2020 prices, and keep us in the production line. They actually produced the equipment for us in 2020 and 2021, but I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger at those times. So, they sold the machines, and put me right back in line.”
Fast-forward to 2022, the Kellys and Church put in an offer on a vacant lot to finally build their store. But, within days, Church’s construction operation received a request from a local businessperson, asking him to build a brand new 5,000-square-foot laundromat on the other side of town and in a more favorable location.
“The four-year laundromat dream seemingly came to a screeching halt,” Kelly remembered. “I thought we’d dropped the ball.”
That potential competitor was ahead of Kelly in many respects. He owned the property in a bustling section of Fairbanks, and already had a store design worked out and a layout ready to go.
But equipment availability become the determining factor.
“I called and told him I was moving forward with my building,” Kelly related. “I told him I had all of the equipment, and it would be ready to ship within six months. There was a long pause on the other end, and then he admitted that his equipment wouldn’t be ready for another year and a half.
“At that point, he suggested we partner on his location, which is what we decided to do. And, with him on board, there came a wonderful addition to our partnership – as well as a more desirable laundry location and a great general manager in Erik Newbrook.”
Innovative Solutions for Arctic Challenges
Beyond ready access to washers and dryers, Kelly also brought some rather innovative technology to the table.
“The whole driving factor for me in doing it right was to be sure we could be profitable and economical for Fairbanks,” he said. “The biggest obstacle we face are the winters.”
So, Kelly reached out to Ross Adkins, who decades earlier had built a successful laundromat in nearby North Pole, Alaska, and actually used old soda cans to recover the exhaust from his dryers.
“Ross told me to start collecting pop cans, like tens of thousands of them!” Kelly recalled. “So, I started filling my garage with cans – and this was in 2018; I didn’t even have a property yet. It was still just an idea.”
Drawing upon Adkins’ wisdom, Kelly and company devised a unique concept of harnessing the dryer exhaust to temper water and makeup air. This solution not only addressed the region’s utility challenges, but also laid the foundation for sustainable operations. By repurposing aluminum from recycled soda cans, they crafted the perfect heat exchanger, paving the way for an eco-friendly approach to laundry services in Fairbanks.
“We created the heat exchanger,” Kelly said. “And then we built a 100-foot tunnel that’s 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall underneath the building, and all 50 dryers blow down into the tunnel, rather than out of the building. There’s a wall between the exhaust, and the makeup air comes in through a solar wall that’s just a hot box on the back of the building.
“The sun beats onto the south end of the building, and whether it’s 40-below or 80, we’re benefitting from that sunlight. It’s generally preheating the air warmer than it would if it were just sucking the air out from the back of the building. In fact, in our first year in business, we’ve been able to enjoy 70-degree makeup air, even when it was 40 degrees below zero.”
Serving the Community
Opening its doors last July, Fairbanks Laundry quickly established itself as a vital resource for the local community. Situated strategically amidst major retail outlets and big-box stores, the total facility spans 11,000 square feet, which includes more than 3,000 square feet of vacant storefront space that the Kellys and their partners plan to rent out to future tenants.
“We are a hub in Alaska,” Kelly said. “We’ve got a lot of mining and military up here, with Fort Knox Mines, Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base. There is a lot of activity through Fairbanks, so that brings a constant flow of laborers through the town.
“Our customer base also includes families doing their blankets and comforters a few times a year, or washing clothes after their hunting or fishing trips. Additionally, there are a lot of dry cabins in Fairbanks with no running water, so those residents are coming in to do their weekly laundry.”
Moreover, tourism plays a major role in Fairbanks’ economy, and the laundromat is making sure it gets its proper share of the Airbnb and motorhome business as well.
“We also do wash-dry-fold laundry,” explained Kelly, who estimated that WDF and commercial accounts currently represent about 25 percent of the total business. “And we’re getting into pickup and delivery as well, with two new vans. My goal is to have a night crew and day crew, with all of the commercial work being done at night.”
At the moment, Fairbanks Laundry – which is open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily – employs a general manager, six full-time staffers, and three part-time attendants.
“There are a handful of people in Fairbanks who really love to fold clothes, keep the place clean, chat with the customers, and don’t necessarily want an office job – and we’ve found them,” Kelly boasted.
As Fairbanks Laundry charts its course forward, the business’ owners remain steadfast in their commitment to excellence and innovation. With a dedicated team, a loyal customer base, and a spirit of resilience, they stand poised to redefine the landscape of laundry services in Fairbanks and beyond.
“We’ve had to leverage our community relationships,” said Kelly, of the year-old laundromat project. “But being from Fairbanks and growing up here, small-town residents treat each other well, especially when there is an exciting motivation among the group.”
For the Fairbanks community, the laundromat is not just a place to wash clothes – it’s a symbol of progress, sustainability, and unwavering dedication to service.
