New owners have given the former Cravens Laundromat a new name and a fresh, clean look.
Ryan and Danielle Watson purchased the property at 513 N. Grand Ave. in December and, after fully renovating the building, have rebranded and reopened as Fresh Cycle Laundromat.
“Basically, we went in and redid the entire building, inside and out,” Ryan Watson said.
They put in a new floor, redid the electrical wiring, painted the exterior, repaved the parking lot and put in a comfortable, updated seating area for customers. And, most importantly Watson said, they installed new washers and dryers, including larger capacity machines that will allow them to market their laundry delivery and dropoff services to commercial clients such as caterers, restaurants and healthcare facilities.
“We have a variety of sizes of washers and dryers,” Watson said. “We wanted to not just cater to the public but also be able to handle big commercial accounts.”
Watson also owns AAA Cleaning Co., a Springfield-based floor cleaning company that counts County Market as one of its largest clients, but he said he’s long had an interest in the laundry business.
The Craven family operated the laundromat on North Grand Avenue for decades before selling to an outside owner. Knowing the neighborhood needed a laundromat, Watson contacted the building’s new owner to see if they would be interested in selling, but, he said, the price wasn’t right at the time. Eventually the property changed hands again, and when Watson reached out to the most recent owner, they were able to make a deal.
“So many people approached me and were like, ‘We are so glad you bought that. We really hope you reopen it as a laundromat,’” Watson said. He said he and his wife wanted to create a safe place that met a need in the community.
“For Danielle and me, Fresh Cycle was never just about opening another laundromat,” he said. “We wanted to create a clean, modern and safe place where people feel comfortable — somewhere our customers can be proud to bring their families.”
I got to visit the laundromat my brother Ryan and Danielle own it was very nice and clean and had nice tables and chairs the washer ‘s and dryer’s were big in size, they even had a play area for kids. I would recommend this laundromat because I have never seen one this nice anywhere.
I visit the Fresh Cycle laundromat and found it family friendly very clean, large safe and very accommodating. This facility will be epic to the community much needed and I’m very pleased with the owners and the outcome above my arrival. There was a young person washing his families clothes so it reaches all ages, young and middle and old great job Watson family great job. I wish you all the best all the prosperity. These are great friends of mine they operation using cards. All machines are operated with your card or a card from the establishment. There’s enough time on the machines to wash for a cycle. There’s enough time on the machine to dry as well. Your clothes would be clean fresh and dry.