Why a Quartet of Business Partners Chose To Bring 5 LaundroLab Locations to the St. Petersburg Area

LaundroLab, the modernized laundromat concept, will expand its reach in Florida as four entrepreneurs bring five new locations to the St. Petersburg area. While Carlie Canfield is excited about this opportunity, she says it was not the original investment plan.

“We started a business flipping single-family homes in 2019. It wasn’t something we were looking for; we just kind of fell into it and went along with it,” she said. “That turned into having more revenue and larger residential properties, and in 2020, we were approached by an individual to buy a portfolio that had a liquor store, an auto-body shop and a laundromat.”

Canfield explained that she actually expressed hesitancy about the laundromat portion of the portfolio around closing time.

“We are in a town of fewer than 3,000 people. I had never even noticed it was there. It had no name, no signage or anything,” she added.

But, they moved forward with the investment. Canfield says she was “voluntold” to manage the laundromat, and it — unexpectedly — quickly became one of her favorite aspects of the work. After learning more about the industry and process, she quickly fell in love.

The Denaults and Canfields were close friends, and Matt Denault and Carlie Canfield became business partners in 2019 when they began flipping homes. The partnership has continued through the purchase of the laundromat, auto-body and liquor store portfolio purchase and management, and now through franchising with LaundroLab.

The Canfields were in Central Illinois and looking to move. After the Denaults investigated the Tampa market, it seemed like an excellent location for the Canfields to go, bringing LaundroLab with them.

Unlike many LaundroLab franchisees, Canfield says they are looking to purchase their real estate rather than renting. Though this may lengthen the timeline on the front-end, the franchisees’ collective experience with real estate leaves them well-informed and confident in what this decision will mean for their long-term success.

As the five locations are built out, the group is looking forward to getting doors open and beginning to serve their community.

“We do still enjoy flipping. I say flipping, and you always think of people that just flip and move on, but we really want to invest in our communities and improve them. That’s our big goal in all things we do,” Canfield explained.

The same applies to their work with LaundroLab. “I enjoy it because there are so many people who just want to have an investment, make money and go home… But to be able to make something better for someone else, even if it’s just the smallest thing like keeping the place where they do their laundry neat and clean, to bring them peace in this chaos — that’s what it’s all about in my book.”

A prospective LaundroLab owner needs $500k liquidity and a $1M minimum net worth. A new LaundroLab store can range anywhere from $1.1M - $1.7M, which includes equipment, buildout, franchise fee, working capital and more. For more information on franchising, visit https://www.laundrolabfranchise.com/opportunity.