Five years ago, a naturopathic physician and her 26 year-old cousin came up with an idea to revitalize the laundromat experience.
Their business plan: Offer customers a one stop shop for washing and drying clothes, a happy hour, karaoke, a full service dining menu, an open mic stage, even a laundromat dating night.
In 2007, after an experience with governmental red tape that co-founder Jesus Ortiz describes as “more difficult than my time in the Marines,” this idea became a reality. Ortiz and Laury Rosario opened up Spin Cycle Cafe Laundromat in Newington, less than two miles from Central Connecticut State University (CCSU).
It was Ortiz who first approached Rosario with the concept.
“When I was stationed in Wilmington there was this laundromat that had a snack bar and arcade. People loved it because it had something to do while they were waiting,” Ortiz said.
Rosario liked the idea so much that she left her full-time job as a naturopathic physician to become a full-blown entrepreneur. Ortiz already had entrepreneurship in his blood — he grew up watching his father run his own bar in Jersey City.
They found their laundromat’s location by accident.
“We took a wrong turn near CCSU and fell on (the space). There was supposed to be a Blimpies going up, but it fell through,” Rosario said.
With nearly 50 washers and dryers costing between $4,000 and $11,000 each, Rosario said, their start-up costs were almost $450,000.
“We took out an SBA loan, refinanced property we own, and exhausted all our savings,” Rosario said, mentioning that she also got divorced in the process. “It took two and a half years to open doors, so we were maintaining all the overhead.”
Rosario said the delays in opening happened primarily because the state did not “know how to handle a dual business.”
“We had to twiddle our thumbs for awhile, waiting for them to tell us how to build. They ended up looking at other states with similar businesses (as models),” she said.
In their first year up and running, Rosario and Ortiz learned that their business plan’s target demographics were wrong.
“CCSU is only about 10 percent of our customer base, if that. Our main source of business is actually everything but CCSU. Residents from nearby towns, people of all ages are here. Weekends are our busiest days, but we have a lunch crowd, a happy hour crowd, a regular laundromat goers crowd of people who come in constantly,” Rosario said, mentioning she spends up to $4,000 a month on advertising.
In an average week, 150 to 350 customers do their laundry at the café, paying from $1.75 for a single load up to $6.75 for a five-loader, Rosario says.
As far as competition, the cousins say there is none.
“There’s nothing out there like us in the state. Other businesses tried to copy us at first, but they realized it’s hard to open this kind of business because there’s so much liability involved,” Rosario said.
The owners say Spin Cycle Cafe Laundromat has suffered “severely” from the sinking economy.
“What affected us big time was taking two years to start (the business). We exhausted all our resources. Then the economy hit. It’s a miracle we’ve survived. Any business owners in the red as long as us would have given up,” Rosario said.
To counter the drop in revenue, they offer free soap, cheaper food than Panera Bread, one of their benchmarks. Also, Ortiz has taught himself how to repair the washers and dryers, saving what he says are “thousands” on maintenance costs.
Still, Rosario and Ortiz say they aren’t earning money from the venture yet. They live off of property rentals and Ortiz works landscaping jobs.
They remain ambitious, nonetheless, and by the end of this year they hope to break even and open up branches throughout Connecticut. Eventually, they’d like to franchise the business nationally.
“My biggest advice to new business owners is if you’re not passionate about it, don’t even consider it. It’s a sacrifice. I’m always thinking of Spin Cycle 24 hours a day,” Rosario said, adding that all her sacrifices have been worth it.
Joanna Smiley, a Hartford area freelance writer, produces the weekly Local Insight column for The Hartford Business Journal.
