Coin Laundry’s Goodwill Washes Through Lennox

The grand opening of a coin-operated laundry isn’t really big news. After all, there are 40,000 of them in the United States.

But on Saturday in a gritty neighborhood near the Century Freeway in Lennox--a blue-collar community near the L.A. airport known mostly for hard times--there was a throng of people who came and washed away at the grand opening of Lucy’s Lavanderia. To them, the $1.4-million coin laundry is the biggest thing to hit Lennox in a long time.

“The other Laundromats around here, the money changers don’t work and the dryers don’t dry,” complained Victoria Gonzales, who showed up at the ceremonial opening with five loads of laundry. “Here, there are attendants to help you and there’s free restrooms. And everything works. Look, there are even TV sets. We need this place.”

Lucy’s is big news in other ways too. Since it opened Oct. 1, its owners report it’s already turning a profit.

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Lucy’s is the product of a group of yuppie thirtysomething investors led by Randy Landsberger and Bill Cunningham, who have spent more than 10 years in the coin-laundry industry. They want to establish a chain of Lucy’s-type laundries in minority neighborhoods where there is a need for good, safe and clean businesses.

They figure they can make a good living and at the same time be good neighbors by offering jobs to area residents.

They target ethnic communities because they think customers will prefer larger coin laundries with attendant staffers to the smaller, aging ones with no one on the premises. Landsberger and Cunningham disdain references to the “inner city,” but that’s clearly the kind of area that attracts them.

It wasn’t an accident that they picked Lennox for Lucy’s. They looked at several sites before they decided to build the facility in the vicinity of Inglewood Avenue and Lennox Boulevard, learning that a new coin laundry in the neighborhood was needed. The area’s housing patterns were studied. Cunningham was aware of the area’s gang problems but decided that the chance to construct a brand-new lavanderia was too good to pass up.

The meticulous planning even extended to the name of the place. There is no Lucy. The name was picked because the customers might relate to it. And that has apparently worked too.

“People always ask me, ‘Where’s Lucy?’ ” laughed Jose Medina, the business’s lead attendant.

But getting to Saturday’s big event wasn’t easy.

The banks refused to finance the project because they thought it too risky. Many potential investors were afraid of Lennox. Cunningham, who heads a Torrance laundry development company, didn’t even approach government agencies, especially those pushing post-riot and earthquake recoveries. He feared the bureaucrats would impose unwanted limits.

Eventually, 15 investors came up with the capital. In four months, after the site on Inglewood Avenue was purchased and prepared, Lucy’s was built and opened for business.

In that time, no vandalism or graffiti was reported. Gang members steered clear of it, giving the place a nod of respect. And numerous passersby kept a watchful eye, hoping they could land a job. When that day came, 300 showed up in the first hour, looking for work.

When I stopped by Saturday, it was clear Lucy’s was a success. Kids crowded around the attendants and around a clown hired for the occasion, who gave out candy, sodas and tokens for free use of the restrooms. Some customers couldn’t get over the daily hours of operation, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., which are longer than most places.

The introductory prices didn’t hurt either: 25 cents for a single-load wash and 50 cents to dry a full load.

As the soap and goodwill flowed, Cunningham was shaking his head at the steady stream of business. “This is a four-win situation,” he said. “The customers win. The community wins. I win. And the investors win too.”

The mostly Spanish-speaking crowd wasn’t bothered that there’s no Lucy. Or that monied gringos are behind the venture. Or that other coin laundries in the area might fail because of Lucy’s.

“I respect these people because they respect us,” explained Jesus De Pino in between drying cycles. “They give us a clean building, good machines. They give some of our people a job. That is very good.”

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Saturday’s opening appears to be only the start of big things for Lucy’s. There are plans to open three more like it in Hollywood, Downtown L.A. and the San Fernando Valley.

And in Lennox, plans are under way to open a minimarket inside Lucy’s by December.

“That’ll be bigger than this grand opening,” Victoria Gonzales said.