AUGUSTA, Ga. — Little did Steven Dawkins know when he gave his daughter’s hand in marriage to Casey Norman that he, too, was getting hitched. The proud father, whose favorite snack earned him the boyhood nickname “Peanut,” gained not only a son-in-law, but a business partner for his conventional coin laundries with the rather unconventional name.
The duo — close as two kernels in a shell — have cracked open lucrative east Georgia markets with their Peanut’s Coin Laundry brand, where simplicity of design lends itself to the intuitive interaction between man and machine in an around-the-clock self-service environment.
Out of a lone coin laundry/car wash outpost grew a diverse 10-operation chain, maturing rapidly with three single purpose-built coin-op openings in as many years. And along the way, the special bond between father-in-law and son-in-law strengthened as the younger proved his worth to the elder.
TRIPLE THE TYPICAL
Keeping tabs on the Thomson, Ga., car wash that Norman reenergized had an unexpected windfall: the need for a modern coin-op in the town. And while the site was too small for a new wash-and-dry, the same couldn’t be said for a shuttered Ryan’s Family Steakhouse he spotted sitting at the entrance to a bustling Walmart drawing patrons from miles around.
The 9,500-square-foot steakhouse was nearly triple the typical Peanut’s. But the chance to gain a foothold in a market that both felt was underserved could not be passed up.
At the onset of the Augusta branch’s construction, Dawkins turned his attention west on the interstate, threw the listing agent a number, and soon found himself with a fully fixtured buffet.
“It looked like you ate and got up from the table to walk out,” he recalls.
During renovations, the curious stopped to see what was on the menu.
“It was kind of a letdown for everyone when they figured out it was just a coin laundry,” Dawkins says.
Once opened, however, Thomson and surrounding rural communities embraced the coin-op, the two say.
If you thought Peanut’s would have sacks of its edible namesake lying about and discarded shells littering the tables, you’d be better served heading to a Five Guys burger joint. The closest you’ll come here is a PB&J-stained T-shirt.
The renovated steakhouse incorporates many elements of the evolving Peanuts architectural brand, including clean lines of front-load washers spaced between generous aisles running perpendicular to the assortment of tumblers and folding tables. Signage is minimal, relying instead on panel instructions and LED prompts.
Like its newer freestanding counterparts, the laundry footprint comes in at a little under 4,000 square feet and is accessible by multiple customer entries, including one automatic sliding door. The lion’s share of the structure remains for future compatible redevelopment.
The 27 washers (ranging from 20- to 80-pounders) and 32 dryer pockets on offer are in keeping with Peanut’s proven mix and laid out with the highest-capacity washers closest to the doors and the largest 50- and 80-pound tumblers taking center stage on the rear wall.
Polished concrete floors reflect nicely on the stainless steel-clad star attractions, while exposed wood beams along an angled roof line — remnants from the prior tenant — provide dimensional relief to the crisp machinery lines below.
Costs were kept in check by working around the existing fire sprinkler system, two multi-stall restrooms and a spacious lounge. Booth seating was carried over, as well as steam buffet tables converted into twin 48-square-foot, family-friendly folding tables.
NEW PAYMENT FORMAT
With a handful of newly christened Peanut’s outlets coming online, a unique opportunity presented itself to employ a new payment format. The pair was convinced that whole dollar-vended washers and dryers priced in quarter increments — with the option of inserting both coins into all machines — was the path forward.
A rear-loading, four-hopper, dual validator changer to dispense dollar coins, enhanced with a dollar coin inlet slot to pay out four quarters, serves as Peanut’s central change-making station.
At the newest metro Augusta outlet, a supplemental, dedicated debit/credit card-to-token machine dispenses dollar-valued tokens for $5-$20 transactions, redeemable at any washer or dryer. Dawkins reports tokens account for up to 25% of weekly revenue, adding that the dollar token payment option is under consideration at other locations.
With operations spread over a 40-mile radius of the original outpost, including a side-by-side coin-op/car wash, as well as dedicated facilities, Dawkins and Norman are in a unique position to observe the two self-service industries.
Dawkins reports car wash revenues have shown overall gains year-on-year for the past decade, with updated in-bay automatic equipment at selected sites giving traffic a shot in the arm. On the coin laundry side, volume increases are predicable, he says, except for an occasional one-month “blip” that soon corrects itself.
His first tandem has stood the test of time.
“They go good together. A lot of customers put their laundry in, get back in the car, wash and vacuum, pull around the building and put the clothes into the dryer and get it all done,” Dawkins observes, noting that Mother Nature pays a key role. “When the weather’s bad for one, it’s good for the other.”
Norman agrees: “If we get three to four days of rain, the car wash trade is down, but it only helps us out at the laundry,” he says while gesturing at the regulars going about their wash at the Thomson venue, remarking, “This never stops.”
Working indoors and having less concern for inclement weather has tipped the scales for the 30-year-old.
“At one time I leaned more toward car washes, but now it’s more toward laundry.”
He says his biggest challenge remains the fine art of customer relations, but discovered refunding redeemable tokens resolves most issues.
Both partners are within a half-hour’s drive of any location, and each answers the occasional 2 a.m. call.
“I used to just let it ring, but I’m married to his daughter and she stopped that,” Norman quips, a response met with laughter from Dawkins.
The two are especially proud of the brand identity.
“We’ve got a name out there,” Norman says, pointing out that patrons are drawn to the smiling peanut caricature holding two golden dollar coins, equating it with a value-oriented, streamlined operation.
Dawkins mentions that he hesitated tying his nickname to laundering, but now takes pride in building a chain on it. One thing he certainly expresses no reservations about is bringing his son-in-law into the fold: “If I’d have known a son-in-law would be that much help, I’d have wanted one sooner.”
Miss Part 1? You can read it HERE.
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