IOWA CITY, Iowa — Customers will soon be able to wash their clothes at the place once known for the Blue Light Special. In the next few weeks, a Kmart store here will open Kwash, a laundry facility offering 31 washers and 30 dryers, along with free WiFi service, drop-off service, a children’s play area, and an attendant on site, according to the Iowa City Press Citizen.The Laundromat, which will be located in the store’s former auto-center space, will have its own storefront and access to the store. Customers can shop online during their wait by using a website set up in Kwash. Online orders can be picked up in the store an hour after the purchase. There will also be a full-service Kmart register in the Laundromat. Laundry customers can purchase items in Kmart and get them rung up in the Laundromat, thus avoiding the sales-and-service area.“We hope to build new customer relationships through the availability of the Laundromat and through our premium services — [drop-off service] and [online shopping] — and hopefully create a steady stream of multitasking laundry customers,” says Chris Brathwaite, a Kmart spokesperson.This is the only Kwash scheduled; the Iowa City store will serve as a test market.Store officials are planning a soft opening, and have tentatively scheduled June 5 as the grand opening, Brathwaite says.
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