--- title: "How LaundroLab Supports Franchisees Through Site Selection, Construction and Opening" url: https://burnaze.com/article/18bd9442-7309-43d6-aeed-0608880298a8 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/how-laundrolab-supports-franchisees-through-site-selection-construction-and-opening-2719505 category: "Retail" industry: "Retail" topics: ["Development & multi-unit","Operations"] published: 2022-08-24T12:07:06.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:10:34.588Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/c2d8245b60207b72e20d31d6f3fc95f65553.jpg --- # How LaundroLab Supports Franchisees Through Site Selection, Construction and Opening **TL;DR:** LaundroLab, an elevated laundromat concept, supports its franchisees through site selection, construction, and opening, offering enhanced resources and communication. The brand's pre-opening process is hands-on and collaborative, with a focus on continuous improvement and growth. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-08-24. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/how-laundrolab-supports-franchisees-through-site-selection-construction-and-opening-2719505).* ## Story LaundroLab, the elevated laundromat concept, is committed to disrupting the industry with new practices, better resources and an enhanced approach to franchisee support. While many laundry concepts are poorly managed and run down, leaving customers with dimly lit spaces, little to no security and questionable machines, LaundroLab has developed a bright, fresh and connected concept. For this brand, elevating the standards within the industry begins with thorough support and communication long before doors open. “I'm the direct point of contact for franchisees throughout pre-opening. I may be the direct source, or I may be the point of contact who then puts them in touch with someone who is an expert in whatever it is that they're looking to do,” explained Dana D. Recomendes, Pre-Opening Project Manager at LaundroLab. “So for example, getting them in touch with our design team, our engineering team, our marketing team, all of that. We also encourage mentoring relationships as a best practice amongst our franchisees. We have done a lot of work to surround ourselves with mentors in the franchising space.” ## Pre opening process Recomendes serves as a point of contact to guide franchisees through the pre-opening process, whether they are working to open their first location or any subsequent ones. One of the most important aspects of pre-opening processes is the site selection; the LaundroLab must be built in a location that makes sense practically as well as for customer traffic. “It’s very hands-on on our part, but it’s also very collaborative,” Recomendes said. “We’re not going to single-handedly say no to a site that a franchisee or local broker proposes, but we partner with a master broker and Legacy Real Estate Advisors who are based here in Charlotte. They understand our franchise brand’s needs and bring a wealth of knowledge regarding commercial real estate and connections with the International Council of Shopping Centers.” LaundroLab works to support new franchisees not only with information and resources, but by ensuring that they are ready for each step of the pre-opening process. Recomendes noted that they encourage franchisees to select architects, general contractors and engineers pretty early on, and the brand works with its distributors to complete a test fit layout to determine the number, mix and size of washers and dryers. This way, once the lease is signed, everything is in place to get going as soon as possible. “The full process honestly starts prior to lease execution. Once we sign and execute a letter of intent, this triggers the landlord to draft a lease agreement and for us to begin our full scope of due diligence,” she said. “At this point, if not already done, we will have a survey team on site to confirm the current state of the property, its utilities and infrastructure.” Generally speaking, she says that the build-out process takes an average of seven months. This can change depending on the market, but architectural design, MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) engineering and preparation of other construction documents takes approximately 60 days, permitting can take four to eight weeks, then construction itself takes an average of three to four months. “Once construction is completed, the CO (Certificate of Occupancy) inspection is the final milestone to cross before we're able to open our doors to customers,” she added. ## Competitive support model “One thing that we have come to understand through conversations with our franchisees who have explored both our model and competing laundry franchise models as well is that our support model really stands out,” Recomendes said. “Each one of them have cited specifically that the reason they signed on with our team as opposed to a similar concept has been the overview of all of the support that they’ll receive, not only during franchise development but also once they’re up and running.” LaundroLab is always focused on continuous improvement and looking to grow in proactive ways rather than reactive ones, Recomendes explained. Whether this is feedback from franchisees and vendors or an expansion project that provides franchisees an opportunity to expand their market through a pickup-delivery service national partnership, the brand is constantly looking toward growth and taking in opinions of the franchise network. “We are taking a lot of efforts as a company right now to be as forward thinking as we possibly can. Some of those things we’re starting to look at is how we can not only expand but also restructure the team based on the feedback we’re hearing,” she added. “We are always open to the idea of change so that we can make the experience better for our franchisees.” *A prospective LaundroLab owner needs $500k liquidity and a $1M minimum net worth. A new LaundroLab store can range anywhere from $1.1M - $1.7M, which includes equipment, buildout, franchise fee, working capital and more. For more information on franchising, visit* ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Retail (sector) - franchise support (topic) - site selection (topic) - construction (topic) - laundromat concept (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/how-laundrolab-supports-franchisees-through-site-selection-construction-and-opening-2719505). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/18bd9442-7309-43d6-aeed-0608880298a8).