CARIBOU, Maine — A new Sudsie’s laundromat opened in the Bennett Drive shopping center last week, offering 26 dryers and 19 washers within walking distance of several stores in the middle of town.
Dana Cassidy, who owns the Bennett Drive shopping center, in addition to eight other shopping centers and three hotels throughout the state, said he decided to open a laundromat when NAPA Auto Parts moved out of the shopping center and to a new location near the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
“I lost NAPA in three of my shopping centers,” Cassidy said. “Their new policy is to build an outparcel (a store that stands alone, and is not connected to others). They figure they will get more exposure that way.”
The Bennett Drive shopping center, according to Cassidy, is worth about $3.175 million and NAPA accounted for 9.1 percent of the center in terms of square footage. The new laundromat takes up roughly 8.6 percent of the property and Cassidy said this replacement allows him to “sustain” the center while maintaining “perpetual traffic.”
While Caribou does have another laundromat, Cassidy said he didn’t open a second one to compete with the other facility.
“I didn’t do this to hurt my competition. I did it for the sustenance of my shopping center. It’s the same thing as putting new tires on your truck. It’s preventative maintenance,” he said.
“It’s the best location in town,” he added. “It’s next to McDonalds, the Cigarette Shopper, the Par & Grill, car washes, Subway, and Tim Hortons. So when people come in and throw their clothes in the washer, they can do a couple errands, then come back and put their clothes in the dryer without wasting any time. It’s a no-brainer.”
Cassidy purchased high-end washing machines that spin clothes at 2,000 RPMs, compared to about 500 RPMs in average home washers, he said.
“They’re like a machine gun,” he said. “You pull your clothes out and there’s no water dripping, so when you put them in the dryer, you only need to give them 30 minutes and they come out dry.”
Cassidy said he will include a tanning room as well as a play area for children. The facility is currently automated, with cameras and security lights that stay on 24/7, LED lights and doors that unlock at 7 a.m. and lock at 9 p.m.
Once he gets a better idea of high traffic times in the laundromat, he said he would like to offer a service in which someone could drop off all their clothes and an attendant could wash, dry and fold.
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- Two customers are seen washing their clothes at Sudsie’s Laundromat, the newest addition to the Bennett Drive shopping center in Caribou. (Scott Galipeau)
