Dan Thanh Dang, Gary Miller, BangTam Miller and Quynh Simon
Wash-N-Fold Express
Edgewood, Md.
Before Getting into the Laundry Business…
All of the store’s owners are still employed full-time outside of the laundry business. Dan Thanh Dang, a former newspaper reporter, is currently a furniture manufacturer’s representative. Gary Miller is a retired Army pilot, who now flies for the Department of Defense. BangTam Miller is an administrator in the local public school system’s central office; he is a former educator and assistant principal. Ngoc Quynh Simon is a government business development manager.
Store Opening
January 2016
Business Hours
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily
Staff
One full-time employee, and five part-time attendants
Total Square Footage
2,250 square feet
Parking Availability
There are 12 adjacent parking spaces at the laundry’s side entrance, as well as open access parking spaces at the front entrance of shopping plaza.
Lease or Own?
The owners currently have a 10-year lease, with two five-year options.
The Building
Wash-N-Fold Express occupies an end unit in its shopping center. The store is located in a former bank, which had been vacant for approximately five years. Basically, the ownership team built the self-service laundry from the ground up, adding a side entrance.
The Construction Process
The owners broke ground mid-July 2015 and completed the process in December 2015. This nearly six-month project, including the laundry equipment, cost almost $500,000
Turns per Day
4
Utility Costs
14 percent of gross revenue
Marketplace Demographics
There are about 39,000 people living within a three-mile radius of the laundry, with a mix of single-family homes, townhomes and apartment complexes.
Competition
There is one other self-service laundry in what the owners of Wash-N-Fold Express consider to be their trade area.
Payment Options
Coins, tokens and credit/debit cards
Washers and Dryers
5 Dexter 20-pound frontloaders, $3.50
8 Dexter 30-pound frontloaders, $4.50
8 Dexter 40-pound frontloaders, $6.00
6 Dexter 60-pound frontloaders, $8.00
2 Dexter 80-pound frontloaders, $9.50
15 Dexter 30-pound stack dryers, 25 cents for seven minutes
3 Dexter 50-pound stack dryers, 25 cents for five minutes
Water Heating System
Advantage 96 commercial water heating system
Bill Changer
1 Standard Change-Makers changer
Laundry Carts
10 R&B Wire Products laundry carts
Folding Tables
9 Sol-O-Matic fiberglass folding tables
Flooring
Ceramic tile
Lighting
Fluorescent tubes
Soap/Laundry Supplies Vending
1 Vend-Rite Manufacturing eight-column laundry supplies vending machine, 75 cents
Televisions
3 42-inch LED flatscreen televisions
Additional Amenities
- A carpeted family lounge/reading area
- HD cable TV, with expanded sports package
- Free WiFi access
- Phone charging stations
- A work counter for students and busy professionals
- Enhanced security monitoring, featuring a LaView camera system
Wash-Dry-Fold Service
- $1.50 per pound; 10-pound minimum
- $1.25 per pound for orders over 50 pounds
- Discounts for military veterans, police officers and firefighters
Distributor
Launette Equipment Co., Laurel, Md., (301) 470-3121
