Before you dismiss the new El Dorado Hills laundromat as merely a place to bring bulky items to wash in preparation for the holiday season, stop to consider the full-service options owners Rita and Greg Ferrero have built into Sierra Laundry at El Dorado Hills Town Center, their most recent entrepreneurial venture.
“This is not your father’s laundromat,” quipped Rita, a retired tech sales executive.
She and her husband Greg, a former California Highway Patrol captain, just opened their fourth store in the shopping center near Nugget Market and across from Starbucks. Their other locations include Sacramento, Citrus Heights and Cameron Park.
Rita and Greg came to El Dorado Hills in 2007, all three of their children attending Oak Ridge with their youngest a current sophomore there.
“We moved here to have a slower pace of life and be closer to the mountains,” said Rita, adding that the idea of running laundromats was a way to find some work/life balance. “We wanted to do something where we could have more time with our family.”
The Ferreros’ quest for balance has translated into more family time for patrons of Sierra Laundry. Not only can customers drop off laundry to be washed, dried and folded, contactless delivery is also a convenient option. Sierra Laundry contracts with Freshy Fresh cleaners through which both residential and commercial customers can have laundry picked up and delivered, usually with a turnaround time of a single day.
El Dorado Hills resident Karen Crawford is an avid convert. “A few years ago laundry was swallowing all of my time and sanity,” she shared. “There is nothing that gives me more time back than placing our family’s laundry in a bag, placing the bag on my doorstep and having it return the next day all clean and folded. We have been using Freshy Fresh ever since and I wouldn’t think about giving this service up, ever.”
Self-serve customers benefit from the store’s savvy technology.
“The store is completely networked and can be remotely managed, including starting machines from a remote location,” Rita explained. “We offer a mobile app-based payment system that allows you to pay and track the status of your laundry in real-time right from your mobile device. You can even set up alerts to tell you when your laundry is done.”
Sierra Laundry houses top-of-the-line Dexter laundry equipment, after which the Ferreros named their 15-month-old black Labrador retriever. Customers can choose from 17 washers, some of which handle up to eight loads at a time. Ten of the 20 dryers hold five loads and are reversing for comforters, bedding and other unwieldly items. A change machine is available, as well as free Wi-Fi.
Rita credits Deborah and Jim Dower as her laundry “mentors,” who encouraged the Ferreros to start their business six years ago. From El Dorado Hills themselves, the Dowers operate several laundromats in the Sacramento area.
“They were totally instrumental in getting us off the ground,” Rita said.
“We thought we were done with three laundromats,” she added. “But we felt there was a need with all of the building … being done in El Dorado Hills and Folsom. So we decided to take the leap and build in our own town.”
It is due to their affection for the community that the Ferreros are launching Wash Wednesdays for a Cause. One Wednesday each month, Sierra Laundry will partner with a local philanthropy group or school and donate 50% of proceeds generated between noon and 10 p.m.
“That’s the fun part of having the store here in El Dorado Hills,” Rita said. “We want to do good things for our community.”
For more information contact Rita Ferrero at [email protected] or (925) 998-3086.
Stop by Sierra Laundry EDH 9-11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, to meet the Freshy Fresh staff.
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The Link LonkNovember 04, 2020 at 08:00PM
https://www.villagelife.com/news/sierra-laundry-not-your-everyday-laundromat/
Sierra Laundry: Not your everyday laundromat - Village Life
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