Suds and Society: The community behind laundromats and dry cleaners

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Suds and Society: The community behind laundromats and dry cleaners

Photo by Anthony Duong

Maeve Bauer, Contributing Writer 

Laundromats have been a staple in the Richmond community for decades, each containing a different cultural hub.

Neighborhood Laundromat has four locations throughout Richmond and Chesterfield County. The owner, Al Bingenheimer, said he opened the business in 2014 to create an engaging and safe environment, working diligently to keep the shop clean and taking his time to create both a conversation with customers and a conversation between customers. 

Bingenheimer said he has noticed a slight decrease in social interaction in his shop over the years. Many patrons now come in with their heads down and headphones on, which he said he attributes to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The pandemic was the start of people being able to avoid other people,” he said.

Bingenheimer expands more on his experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining that clean clothes were essential and his business helped those who worked in hospitals.

“Back then it was the people that were working in hospitals, working at the doctor’s office. Those were the folks that needed it the most,” said Bingenheimer.  

A more recent issue that affected Bingenheimer’s business was the water shortage and boil advisory that Richmond experienced on Jan. 6-10.

Bingenheimer said his phone was ringing off the hook, but he had locations in Chesterfield that were able to run. Hospital workers and first responders need to be able to take care of their clothes, according to Bingenheimer. 

The Neighborhood Laundromat has been a part of different types of art projects over the years usually involving VCUarts students, according to Bingenheimer.

“Another thing that I’ve done is trying to support the arts. I’ve had different videos — rap videos, music videos, movie scenes — shot in the laundromat through VCUarts. I just had a guy that did a music video and they published it on YouTube a couple of weeks ago,” Bingenheimer said. 

Bingenheimer encourages people to check out the video on the Strawberry Neighborhood Facebook page.

Franklyn Edmundson, a fourth-year health science student, is a new regular at the Neighborhood Laundromat, on Strawberry Street. Edmundson is newer to the area; the laundromat came highly recommended to him by his roommates, he said.  

Edmundson has found the environment to be very welcoming. He hasn’t had too much interaction with other customers, but the ones he has had have been pleasant, he said. 

“The owner came in. He was super nice, so that was very cool, seemed very genuine. The people that I met here at the Strawberry Street Neighborhood Laundromat have been very kind as well,” Edmundson said. 

Another dry cleaning business Moizelles Cleaners & Launders has been serving Jackson Ward for 70 Years, according to Sandra Harvey of Moizelles.  

Harvey said that the business is very community-based, serving a diverse population of clients. 

“ It’s a diverse group of people that come in because now downtown Richmond is composed of a diverse group. You find fewer college students coming in because they don’t have the finances to dry clean,” Harvey said. 

Although Moizelle’s is not a laundromat, it offers wash, fold and dry services, along with a discount for college students. 

Harvey said they work to create a relaxed atmosphere for customers. While they have long-standing regulars, the gentrification of Jackson Ward has brought in a new customer base, they said. 

“ This city is really going through a — what you would say — gentrification. We’re getting a different type of customer from the customers that we had 20 or 30 years ago because Jackson Ward was a hub for the Black community,” Harvey said. “It has changed over time and we get a diverse group of people. Young, old and middle-aged, a diverse group of professions.”

 Despite the changing environment, Moizelles has stood the test of time. Harvey says that they are the only dry cleaning plant in Downtown Richmond, meaning they dry clean clothes in the shop, instead of sending them to another location to be cleaned. 

Harvey said they also haven’t felt the threat of chains taking away business. 

“ We have seen over the years that chain cleaners do not tend to survive. That’s because they charge a cheap price and they’ve got to take in such a volume of clothes. What we offer is quality service,” Harvey said. 

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