Neighborhood Laundromat owner Al Bingenheimer at its location on Cleveland Street in Richmond. He recently opened a new location on Hull Street Road in Chesterfield. (Jack Jacobs photo)
A growing chain of local laundromats is looking to clean up in Chesterfield.
Neighborhood Laundromat recently opened a new outpost at 10724 Hull Street Road. It is owner Al Bingenheimer’s fourth laundromat since he founded the company more than a decade ago.
The laundromat occupies a 2,400-square-foot building that was formerly a 7-Eleven convenience store. The location has 28 washers and 16 double-decker dryer units.
Bingenheimer estimated that the new location has been a $1.5 million project, which includes about $400,000 in renovations and about $500,000 in equipment in addition to the money spent on the property. An LLC tied to Bingenheimer bought the property for $575,000 in 2022, per online land records.
The Hull Street location opened in March, and plans to have a grand opening in May.
The interior of the new Neighborhood Laundromat location at 10724 Hull Street Road, which is the company’s fourth location. (Courtesy Neighborhood Laundromat)
Bingenheimer has for the most part grown the business through acquisitions. He said he opted to buy property for this latest location out of a desire to be his own landlord, and had eyed the building for a number of years. He came close to a deal for it in 2018, but said 7-Eleven walked away before negotiations later picked back up. He said he was drawn to it due to its location on a busy roadway.
“Being patient was one of the things I learned (from that experience). Sometimes it’s not the right time,” he said. “You can’t ask for a better traffic spot.”
Bingenheimer founded Neighborhood Laundromats in 2013 with the acquisition of laundromats at 408 Cleveland St. and 317 Strawberry St., both in the city. He said the locations had many machines that weren’t functional when he bought them, and that he completed renovations on both locations in 2014 and 2015.
“I have a saying: If it’s not turning, it’s not earning. I think out of my 200 machines, I don’t think I have a single out-of-order machine,” he said.
In 2019, Bingenheimer bought a laundromat at 10473 Robious Road to expand the business into Chesterfield for the first time. He leases the spaces for his other locations. Bingenheimer operates a wash-and-fold service as a separate business but under the Neighborhood Laundromats banner and is also a salesman for local firm Commercial Laundry Equipment.
Looking to the future, Bingenheimer said he’d like to see the business further expand by planting its flag in Henrico and Powhatan, though there aren’t immediate plans to open new locations at this time.
Bingenheimer said his locations are aimed primarily at families who don’t have a machine at home and those who do but need a bigger machine to handle large objects like bedding.
He said some customers see the laundromat as a convenient option in which they can do all their laundry in one fell swoop as opposed to doing several smaller loads at home. Bingenheimer said that modern washers and dryers are less reliable than their predecessors, and he regularly sees people who have modern machines at home that are out of commission.
“What I’m seeing now, appliances that people are buying in their homes, the quality isn’t as good as it used to be,” he said. “I try to make a clean, well-lit place for people to come when their machine breaks.”
Neighborhood Laundromat owner Al Bingenheimer at its location on Cleveland Street in Richmond. He recently opened a new location on Hull Street Road in Chesterfield. (Jack Jacobs photo)
A growing chain of local laundromats is looking to clean up in Chesterfield.
Neighborhood Laundromat recently opened a new outpost at 10724 Hull Street Road. It is owner Al Bingenheimer’s fourth laundromat since he founded the company more than a decade ago.
The laundromat occupies a 2,400-square-foot building that was formerly a 7-Eleven convenience store. The location has 28 washers and 16 double-decker dryer units.
Bingenheimer estimated that the new location has been a $1.5 million project, which includes about $400,000 in renovations and about $500,000 in equipment in addition to the money spent on the property. An LLC tied to Bingenheimer bought the property for $575,000 in 2022, per online land records.
The Hull Street location opened in March, and plans to have a grand opening in May.
The interior of the new Neighborhood Laundromat location at 10724 Hull Street Road, which is the company’s fourth location. (Courtesy Neighborhood Laundromat)
Bingenheimer has for the most part grown the business through acquisitions. He said he opted to buy property for this latest location out of a desire to be his own landlord, and had eyed the building for a number of years. He came close to a deal for it in 2018, but said 7-Eleven walked away before negotiations later picked back up. He said he was drawn to it due to its location on a busy roadway.
“Being patient was one of the things I learned (from that experience). Sometimes it’s not the right time,” he said. “You can’t ask for a better traffic spot.”
Bingenheimer founded Neighborhood Laundromats in 2013 with the acquisition of laundromats at 408 Cleveland St. and 317 Strawberry St., both in the city. He said the locations had many machines that weren’t functional when he bought them, and that he completed renovations on both locations in 2014 and 2015.
“I have a saying: If it’s not turning, it’s not earning. I think out of my 200 machines, I don’t think I have a single out-of-order machine,” he said.
In 2019, Bingenheimer bought a laundromat at 10473 Robious Road to expand the business into Chesterfield for the first time. He leases the spaces for his other locations. Bingenheimer operates a wash-and-fold service as a separate business but under the Neighborhood Laundromats banner and is also a salesman for local firm Commercial Laundry Equipment.
Looking to the future, Bingenheimer said he’d like to see the business further expand by planting its flag in Henrico and Powhatan, though there aren’t immediate plans to open new locations at this time.
Bingenheimer said his locations are aimed primarily at families who don’t have a machine at home and those who do but need a bigger machine to handle large objects like bedding.
He said some customers see the laundromat as a convenient option in which they can do all their laundry in one fell swoop as opposed to doing several smaller loads at home. Bingenheimer said that modern washers and dryers are less reliable than their predecessors, and he regularly sees people who have modern machines at home that are out of commission.
“What I’m seeing now, appliances that people are buying in their homes, the quality isn’t as good as it used to be,” he said. “I try to make a clean, well-lit place for people to come when their machine breaks.”
Anybody know the deal with the former Westhampton Cleaners and laundromat on Libbie?
It would be great if he bought the one at Patterson Ave and Lauderdale! I bet they have more machines that don’t work than ones that do work! My neighbors and I like to take our large blankets and comforters there.
I met this man about this time last year at his Robious location, very nice guy and the laundromat was nice also.