I closed escrow on the Culver City laundromat on January 28, 2020. I picked the boys up from school that afternoon and we drove straight up there. They were just as excited as me, they would get to play with quarters! Like most people, they were under the impression that we would be schlepping bags of quarters to the bank on a weekly basis. But they soon found out that the quarters come out of the washers and dryers, go right back into the coin change machine, then the dollar bills are removed from the coin change machine and those are what get deposited into the bank.

When we arrived, Chrys was there to greet the three of us with her beaming smile. It was highly emotional for both her and me. She looked at me and said, “you are the one to turn this place around with your youthful energy and enthusiasm!” Enthusiastic, I was!

In my former life of property management, I spent quite a lot of time overseeing apartment renovation projects. When we closed escrow on the laundromat, I was ready to go gangbusters on the transformation. I wanted a clean, bright, minimalist look and feel. While visiting my best friend in Benicia in the Bay Area, we had coffee at “Farm and Flour” bakery. I fell in love with its “look” (white paint with black trim) and that became my inspiration.  

We began construction right away. The front of the laundromat was lined with arcade games — I called the vendor and asked him to come and pick them up. There were plants on top of all of the bulk heads which I asked Chrys to take with her. The old dilapidated vending machines were picked up by a scrap metal guy. The half-missing vertical blinds were all taken down. The laminate vinyl tiles were popped up so that the concrete subflooring could be sanded down. Those few quick changes alone spiffed it right up! Little to zero maintenance was my goal!

The bathroom had to be reworked to become ADA-compliant, the heavily textured walls were smooth-coated and painted a bright white, the green and yellow trim throughout was changed to gray and black. Wow, things were really taking shape!

I enjoyed speaking with customers and hearing how some of them had been coming to the laundromat for a decade or more. They were so appreciative of the work that was being done and were genuinely excited to see things improve. The boys and I hosted a donut day where we passed out over 100 donuts. We also took a dozen to the fire department and police department local branches. Small gestures like this go so far. Putting smiles on people’s faces is one of my greatest joys in life. Any opportunity to have my kids partake in that magnifies my joy tenfold!

Also from that property management life, I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Deb in 2017 when she inquired about having us manage her apartment buildings. Although she ultimately decided to continue to self-manage her properties, she shared a lot of fascinating information with me about being a laundromat owner. While on my quest for the perfect laundromat, Deb and I developed a wonderful friendship. She visited both the Inglewood and Culver City locations and was enthusiastic to share her ideas, opinions and criticisms… from curb appeal to Yelp reviews to remodeling do’s and don’ts. 

Although I had met with a couple of salespeople for Dexter and Speed Queen equipment and was fired up to take out a loan for new washers and dryers, Deb strongly advised me to hold off on doing this. “Spend some time in there, see what people are using, what they want and don’t want,” she suggested. I listened to her and that was such a blessing… because then Covid hit!