Jason Dodge Launches Third Milwaukee Laundromat in the Neighborhood Where He Grew Up
Jason Dodge has returned to his old stomping grounds.
When seeking a location for his new Quick Wash Laundromat, Dodge chose a section of Milwaukee he was quite familiar with – the neighborhood in which he grew up.
“It’s the neighborhood I lived in from first grade through eighth grade,” Dodge explained. “In fact, I used to pass this building on my way to middle school, and one of my part-time jobs during high school was located right across the street from it. I literally grew up on the same street as this laundromat – Villard Avenue – just up the road a little bit.”
Dodge currently owns two other laundromats in the city – a 5,000-square-foot fully attended store and a 1,400-square-foot unattended operation. However, he’s always on the lookout for new locations, driving up and down the busy streets of areas that seem to be in need of laundromats.
When he came upon that familiar old building on the corner, he knew he might have found his third store.
“I use an app that will pinpoint a given location and provide information on who owns it,” Dodge said. “I’ll screenshot that information, email it to myself, and then once a week I’ll write to those owners to gauge their interest in selling.”
Evidently, Dodge’s exploratory letter hit at the right time, and he was soon the owner of the 5,700-square-foot former car dealership.
“One of the biggest factors with successful laundromats is parking, and you can probably park 50 cars on this lot,” he noted. “Parking was the main thing I loved about this location.”
He also liked the demographics – with approximately 26,000 people living within a mile of his new laundromat, and 76,000 within two miles. What’s more, nearly 50 percent of those are renters at both the one- and two-mile marks.
“There are a ton of duplexes, four-family units, and larger buildings all around,” Dodge said. “It’s a good laundromat neighborhood.”
And, Dodge pointed out, it’s situated in a favorable location with relation to other laundromats in the area – not too close or too far.
“It’s in between some decent stores, but I feel I have enough of a buffer,” he explained. “We’re not looking to put anybody out of business. I believe we all can succeed in this industry. I don’t want to compete with anyone other than myself.”
While the location was great, the building itself was in horrible condition when Dodge took possession in October 2022.
“It’s a cinderblock brick building with good bones,” he said. “But that’s all we had to work with, so it was quite the undertaking.”
In fact, between the permitting process and the new buildout, it took nearly a year to get Quick Wash Laundromat on Villard open for business.
“Laundromats are built differently now than they were 20 years ago,” the industry veteran noted. “Stores look so much better now. Everyone is raising the bar – large-capacity machines, high-speed washers so that clothes dry faster, and wider aisles so that customers aren’t bumping into each other.”
For Dodge, featuring more drying capacity than washing capacity also has been a differentiator, as well as offering his customers full-cycle drying.
“As far as managing the store, I rely a lot more on technology today,” admitted Dodge, noting that his newest laundromat is his first card-operated store. “For instance, I use door-access systems that lock and unlock the doors – plus, I have key fobs for all of my employees that are programmed for specific doors they can and cannot open. Also, I can see who opened which door and when. And when an employee leaves, I don’t need them to return a key; I simply turn off their key fob.”
With a staff of 15 part-time employees covering his three laundromats, Dodge has turned to scheduling software called When I Work to keep track of who’s working and when.
“All of our scheduling – including dropping and picking up of shifts – is done through an app,” said Dodge, whose stores’ business hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. “And it’s geofenced, so employees need to be near the store to clock in or out.”
One industry trend that Dodge has chosen to steer clear of has been wash-dry-fold, pickup and delivery, and other full-service segments of the business.
“I’m self-service only,” he said. “I did wash-dry-fold years ago, and it just wasn’t for me. It’s another business and needs to be treated as such. Personally, I was never able to scale it to where I wanted it to go. The reward just wasn’t worth it to me.
“I came to the conclusion that I’d rather build laundromats in areas where they were needed. I’d rather have more stores, as opposed to less stores with more services. And this outlook has simplified my life greatly.”
For Dodge, one of the keys to success has been getting to know his customers.
“A lot of owners don’t want to work in their laundromats, but I enjoy working in my stores,” he admitted. “And, when I’m there filling the vending machines, I’m giving away soft drinks or snacks to the kids who are there – and I’m getting to know the customers.”
Dodge added that, when it comes to complaints, it helps to always assume your customers are telling you the truth.
“Yes, every once in a while, they’re not telling you the truth, but assume they are,” he suggested. “If something goes wrong, help that customer, apologize for the issue, rewash the garments, offer a refund – do whatever needs to be worked out. Also, empower your staff to make those decisions as well.
“I don’t sweat those small details. We just take care of the customer, and it makes everyone’s life a lot easier. Plus, if you’re taking care of those customers, you’re going to receive positive online reviews. They’re going to like your staff and tell people about your laundromat. Those good vibes you’re putting out there will come back to you.”
Dodge’s two larger Quick Wash locations recently released some major good vibes into their communities by hosting free laundry and literacy events, in partnership with CLA’s LaundryCares Foundation.
“I’d been wanting to do a LaundryCares event for years,” he said. “We installed Read, Play & Learn Centers at both stores, gave away TVs and bicycles, and read books to the kids. It was a lot of fun, and both events went very well.”
In all, about 5,000 pounds of free laundry were processed at each event.
“For me, it’s important to give back to the neighborhoods I serve,” Dodge stated. “I think the community respects the fact that we’d hold such events, do free laundry, and give books to their children. It makes customers feel better about coming here. It’s something I want to do, and it’s a great cause.”
What’s next for Jason Dodge?
“I’ve got to get this new store where it needs to be,” he said. “Then, I’m going to start looking for another location, because I think there are areas where laundromats are needed.
“I’m going to slowly expand. I don’t have a magic number. At the moment, I feel I can add another store, so we’ll add another one and see how that looks. If I want to open yet another one, then we’ll find another location. I could stop at four. I might go to five. Or I might go to 10. But I don’t want to rush the process. I’d rather take it slow. I’m not racing anywhere.”
