Duds N Suds: GR laundromat prepares to serve alcohol
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Customers at a Grand Rapids laundromat will soon be able to enjoy an alcoholic beverage while they wait for their laundry.
Duds N Suds owner Edward Lewis Diallo Bates set out to offer alcohol at the laundromat, located along Langley Street near Kalamazoo Avenue, when construction started on the business about four and a half years ago. At first, Bates, an entrepreneur who grew up working in the food and beverage industry, didn’t think the process of getting approval from the city and state would take that long.
“But then after talking to other people, I thought it could even take longer,” he said with a laugh.
Duds N Suds: New laundromat to serve drinks while you wash
Now, he’s jumped through all the hoops and got approval from the Grand Rapids Planning Commission during its March 14 meeting.
“I’ve jumped through all of them. The last hoop was from the city,” he said, explaining that the process prepared him for what serving alcohol will entail. “I’m glad I did have to jump through that hoop because I got educated on things I should do and shouldn’t do. … I think it’s well worth it in the long run. So I didn’t think the process was going to take that long, but it did.”
The laundromat, named Duds N Suds in anticipation of eventually serving up alcohol, opened up in 2018. Customers often call or stop in and ask if they’re serving alcohol yet, Bates said. He added people living near the business have told him they’re looking forward to it.
He’s currently working with distributors to decide what drinks to offer. Despite the work he’s done to start offering alcohol, Bates himself doesn’t drink.
“I don’t drink and so I don’t know what people like,” he explained. “But I’m working with someone who really knows wines, and plus the distributors, and they are counseling me on what I should serve and start out with.”
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He expects other laundromats may start making the move to start offering alcohol, something he said he welcomes.
“I have received calls from Ohio, Chicago and in Maine, they heard about this laundromat serving alcohol, and they asked me about it and how it got started,” he explained. “The gentleman in Ohio said he wanted to come out and talk to me. So I think others will possibly get started in it if they feel it’s a fit. … Maybe they’re looking to see how mine goes over before they get into it.”
Duds N Suds is expected to start serving alcohol in about three weeks.
“If people want to come out and have a nice, clean, relaxing atmosphere to enjoy themselves, that’s what I would like to offer,” Bates said.
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