Southern Entrepreneurs Put New Spin on Old Laundromats as Neighborhood Hubs
Words by Colleen McNally Arnett
Photos by Ryan Belk
Erin Carpenter didn’t set out to own a laundromat in Charleston, South Carolina, but an unexpected journey with her husband, Jon, in a camper van changed her course.
“Our first RV trip was our honeymoon during COVID,” she recalls. It was June 2020, and their original plans and plane tickets were canceled. So, they left their home in Boone, North Carolina, and rented a recreational vehicle to travel up Highway 1 on the California coast. Along the way, the newlyweds stopped at laundromats like The Missing Sock in San Francisco, taking walks and picking up sushi in between cycles. “I’d take pictures of us bringing our laundry in,” Carpenter says. “It was our first time doing chores as a married couple, so you kind of romanticize it a little bit.”
That first trip led to an even bigger adventure. The couple bought their own RV and traveled across the country while working remotely. “We got to explore lots of small towns by way of the local laundromat,” she says. For travelers on the go, the ritual of laundry forced a period of rest and respite from the road. While waiting for the washer, they enjoyed taking walks, getting doughnuts, and talking to people.
When they decided to park their RV and put down roots on the South Carolina coast, they discovered a laundromat in disrepair and for sale on Reynolds Avenue in northern Charleston, just around the corner from the hip Starlight Motor Inn and acclaimed chef Shuai Wang’s King BBQ. With some research and a whole lot of heart, they saw the opportunity for a smart investment and a way to connect with their new chosen community. For the first six months, they collected coins, repaired machines, and chatted with customers about repairs that would be most helpful, such as improved seating and lighting. They found design ideas on Pinterest and from other laundromats around the world, like one in Japan that inspired their green-colored machines.
Laundry day will never be the same.
Carpenter’s favorite feature about Reynolds Laundromat, however, is how it provides a place for neighbors to get to know each other. Every month, in collaboration with local organization The Kindness Army, they host a Free Laundry Day, which has evolved into a potluck-style party. The purpose goes beyond providing clean clothes at no cost. “It’s more about building relationships with repeat customers and getting to share a meal together,” says Carpenter, who often works the front desk and curates the oldies playlist. These monthly events have also featured comedy nights and live music performances dubbed the “Tiny Washer” series as a playful nod to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
The Carpenters shared the process on Instagram, garnering more than 117,000 followers and coverage on national news, including “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” where they received a surprise $10,000 donation plus a generous lifetime supply of Arm & Hammer detergent. They have even received requests to share their expertise as consultants on projects in other cities, including the Laundry Loft in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, which recently opened after two years of planning. “They saw our laundromat go viral when we finished our renovation, and they reached out because they wanted to bring that same idea of community connection to their neighborhood,” Carpenter says.
Why exactly is this resonating with people? “It’s a question I’ve asked myself, too. It’s very humbling,” Carpenter muses about the overwhelming response they’ve received. She believes the broad appeal lies in the nostalgia of spending time at the laundromat when people engaged with each other differently. “Lots of people have memories as children growing up going to the laundromat with their family,” Carpenter adds. “As the world gets more and more distant and disconnected with technology and social media, I think people are looking for ways to get reconnected in real life, and a laundromat is one of those things.”
Recently, friends of the Carpenters opened a combined café and retail shop called Herbert’s Vintage and Coffee in the back of the Reynolds Avenue building, furthering the vision of their laundromat as a place for respite. Next up, the Carpenters have also purchased an over-10,000-square-foot, abandoned building across the street, with renovation underway and plans to partner with more small-business owners. “We want to keep trickling that same spirit,” she says. Laundry day will never be the same.
Spin Cycle
Housed in historic laundromat buildings, these restaurants are serving their neighbors with a fresh purpose.
The Laundry Diner | Savannah, Georgia
Husband-and-wife team James and Liz Massey are no strangers to Savannah after launching Two Tides Brewing Company in 2018. The idea for their latest project, however, started much earlier, when Liz was a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design and noticed a lack of restaurants for early-morning coffees or late-night bites. So, they made their own. Housed in the old Rodgers Laundry building, this diner doesn’t have any laundry machines, but it does offer delicious milkshakes, American classics, and some staple provisions, including detergent.
Judith Tavern | Sewanee, Tennessee
James Beard Award-nominated chef Julia Sullivan of Nashville’s Henrietta Red recently launched her first solo project, Judith Tavern, as a welcoming meeting place for University of the South students, faculty, neighbors, and visitors to Sewanee. The restaurant’s warehouse-style building was formerly the school’s Old Steam Laundry, dating back to the 1950s, while the restaurant’s name honors Judith Ward Lineback, the first woman to enroll as a full-time student of the university in 1969.
