ROSLINDALE, Mass. — Owner Jim Coletti recently celebrated the grand opening of Launder-Brite, his new coin and card-operated Laundromat, with Dave Cabral, vice president of New England Coin Laundry (NECL). The catered event welcomed customers from the Boston neighborhood and was attended by many laundry industry executives.
NECL designed and built the full-service laundry that is equipped with American Dryer Corp. (ADC) washers and dryers. ADC recently entered the vended washer arena, and the store was built with 200-G-force high-extract washers: four 60-pound, six 40-pound and seven 25-pound units.
Additionally, the store is outfitted with 18 dryers: ten 30-pound reversing stacks (AD-30x2), six 45-pound stacks (AD-444) and two 75-pound single pockets (AD-78).
A SpyderWash card system by Setomatic Systems gives Launder-Brite customers the choice of using coins, debit card or credit card.
Coletti was cautious about entering the coin- and card-operated laundry business after spending 40 years in uniform rental.
“You have to have a lot faith in estimated number of turns,” he says. “I’m not used to waiting for my customers to come to me. I’m used to going out and selling to my customers. Little by little, Dave Cabral convinced me that his numbers were accurate and that the demographics for this location were good, so I took the shot.”
From the first day he opened the doors, his leap of faith has yielded positive results.
“I recognize that this is a service business and speed and convenience are critical. The store location, layout and equipment mix really enables me to make it a good laundry experience for my customers. They really love the new equipment, especially the higher-extract washers, because it saves them a lot of time.”
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].