At Denier Laundromat, it’s about more than simply washing and drying clothes

By Patricia Nugent

With its signature homey, cozy and welcoming atmosphere, Denier Laundromat in Middleburg Heights is akin to the Cheers of clothes cleaning. Owners Bill and Carol Smith are celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.

The business’s origin story is interesting…a bit of a back-door path. Bill and Carol spent years in the commercial cleaning business. They spent a lot of time in various laundromats washing all of their cleaning cloths. Oftentimes they weren’t happy with their experience, saying to each other, “If I owned a laundromat, I’d do this or that differently.”

Then an opportunity presented itself to purchase the laundromat that had been operating for 40 years. They were grateful for the guidance and mentoring provided by the last owner on the inner workings of the business.

“We are a true family-operated business,” says Bill, who mentions that sons Will and Michael lend a hand in the day-to-day operations. “Since becoming owners, we’ve renovated the atmosphere and replaced existing machines with commercial-grade, high-performance models in different sizes to meet different needs.”

They offer a by-appointment drop-off service, perfect for high-volume jobs like construction crews and traveling sports teams that need their uniforms cleaned in a hurry.

Their biggest business comes from the single-family homes and apartments in the area, as well as the hotels, fairgrounds and the I-X Center.

And, much like Cheers, Bill reports they have a nice group of regulars who show up to Denier early in the morning, before they open. Sometimes they even bring him a donut or cup of coffee.

“I’m always here to clean and don’t mind letting them in early,” he says. “Over the years we’ve gotten to know each other’s life stories. It’s a real close-knit community, and we help each other out when needed. Getting to know these folks is our favorite part of the business, and I feel why we’ve been successful.”

Making things as affordable as possible is important, too.

“The future of laundromats might be in credit card or app-operated machines, but that’s not how our clientele does its laundry, so we’re sticking with self-serve, coin-operated ones to keep costs down,” says Bill.

A User-Friendly Process
“We understand that a lot of our clients might need a little help operating the machines,” says Bill. “We offer lots of visual aids and photos to help them navigate the process simply. They can use our ample folding stations and carts for hanging clothes when they’re done.”

Atmosphere is everything. The Smiths have gone for a hometown feeling with large black-and-white landscape murals of the new Middleburg Heights Police Station and the Middleburg Heights City Hall.

To ensure clients’ safety, the family takes extra measures such as installing 24/7 camera surveillance of the interior.

Being in a bustling shopping plaza along Pearl Road makes a trip to the laundromat inviting. Bill reports patrons can load their clothes, then pop over to other neighboring mom-and-pop places like Twisted Sweets, Sips and Such Social House, Shaker’s Fish Market, Jaworski Meats and The Cleveland Caramel Corn Co.

Denier Laundromat is located at 7547 Pearl Road in Middleburg Heights. Hours are 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. 365 days a year. Ample parking is located in front of the shopping plaza. Call 440-234-9680 or visit DenierLaundromat.com for more information.