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Laundromat closes, leaving customers with no options
The only laundromat in Fort Scott, which has been in operation for several years, closed its doors to the public earlier this month.
And now, some area residents who previously did not have easy access to washers and dryers, such as Fort Scott Community College student Jesse Pohlmann, have to take their laundry elsewhere.
"That just sucks," Pohlmann said after learning that the laundromat, called Suds Yer Duds, located at 1717 S. Judson St., would no longer be in operation as of June 1. "It's the only place in town."
Pohlmann talked to The Fort Scott Tribune just a few days before the sale of the business was scheduled to close. Pohlmann, who lives in Fort Scott, said he typically did his laundry at the laundromat about every other week, but did not know that he would be doing his laundry there for the last time.
Pohlmann said that not many students, including himself, used the six washer and dryer units available in the dormitories at FSCC. Instead, they chose to use the many more units available at the local laundromat. After the laundromat's closing, Pohlmann, who does not live in the dorms, said he would most likely now do his laundry at the home of a friend who lives in La Cygne rather than purchase a washer and dryer, which can be costly.
Pohlmann added that many college students and local residents who didn't own washer and dryer units would quite often use the laundromat, which he said should have been a very profitable business, since the prices were reasonable. He said it was the only laundromat in town. Average loads at the laundromat only cost customers between $3 and $5 per visit.
"In winter time, they should make money -- maybe not in the summer," Pohlmann said. "I'll just find somewhere else, but I don't believe it's not making money."
Local resident Ron Palmer, who had owned the business since 1990, said he and his wife, Shirley, had a signed contract to sell the business to the Coffeyville-based development company R and L Carpenter Enterprises, LLC on June 1, when the sale was projected to close. A hold-up in the sale pushed that date back nearly two weeks to June 14, he said.
"It was a lot quicker than we thought," Shirley said. "We originally wanted to sell July 15, but the developer wanted possession earlier."
Palmer, who would not reveal the sale price of the building, said he would now concentrate more on retirement than running a business.
"Times change," he said. "It's not as viable a business as it was 17 years ago when I bought it. I probably should have charged more but I didn't. I'm 65 years old and slowing up a bit. It was too good for me to pass this up."
Palmer said the building's new owners, who also lease property to the nearby Sonic Drive In located at 1700 S. National Ave., plan to develop it for purposes of the restaurant. Several attempts by The Fort Scott Tribune to contact Sonic officials for comment on how they plan to develop the property were unsuccessful.
Palmer added that there is a definite need for a laundromat in the community, and that he would be willing to help someone with the right idea and plan to start up a new laundromat in the future.
"Oh yes, there's a need for it here," he said. "I certainly hope someone will build one somewhere else here."
Palmer said he had several part-time staff on hand when the business was open to help keep the laundromat clean and in order. He employed two staff members near the end of the business' long run. One of those employees, Karen Stout, had worked at the laundromat for the last five years.
Stout said she was disappointed the business was closing, but that she could understand why Palmer sold it.
"I feel sad about it for my boss, because he's been awful good to me," Stout said. "He's a good boss. It's not a money-making business. It's open 24 hours, you have to pay bills and insurance on the building. It all takes money."
Stout said she didn't know exactly what future plans for the building are, but that it would most likely not be used as a laundromat anymore.
"They'll probably tear it down and sell the washers and dryers," she said. "I feel sorry now for the customers who have to buy a washer and dryer or go out of town."
Stout said that business at the laundromat the last few years has "kind of slowed up, then it picked back up."
Many of the laundromat's customers had left town recently to relocate because of their jobs, Stout said.
Palmer said he also owned another local business, Fort Scott Ice Company, that he sold in 2000. He sold that business to Mid-America Ice in Clinton, Mo.