1. Start with the population, not the building
The single strongest predictor of laundromat revenue is the number of renter-occupied households without in-unit laundry within a one-mile radius. You want density, not affluence — a neighbourhood of 1,200 renter households with no hookups will outperform a wealthier area of homeowners every time.
Check three things before you look at a single space: renter share of households, median household size, and how many competing stores already sit inside that mile. Two competitors in a dense area is often fine. One competitor in a thin area usually is not.
2. Verify the utilities before you fall in love with the space
This is where new operators lose the most money. A bank of commercial dryers needs serious gas capacity, and a bank of washers needs water volume and drainage that most retail spaces were never built for.
- Gas: add up the BTU rating of every dryer. Twenty stack dryers at 90,000 BTU/hr is 1.8 million BTU/hr. Ask the utility what the service to that meter can actually deliver.
- Water: most stores need a 2-inch or 3-inch service. A 3/4-inch domestic feed will not fill a bank of washers.
- Drainage: a floor trough or adequately sized floor drains, and confirmation that the building's sewer connection can take the volume.
- Electrical: 200–400 amp service is typical, three-phase preferred for larger motors.
3. Negotiate the lease like it is the business
Because it is. You are about to sink six figures of equipment into someone else's building. Push for a term of at least ten years with renewal options — a laundromat with five years left on the lease is very hard to sell, and buyers know it.
Watch the escalator. A 3% annual increase compounds to 34% over ten years. Negotiate a cap, or fixed steps you can actually model.
4. Design the floor around the dryer wall
Most first-time layouts under-provision drying. Target dry capacity at 105–115% of installed wash capacity, and remember that capacity is measured in pounds, not machines — a 60-lb washer needs roughly twice the dryer of a 30-lb one.
The equipment mix optimizer sizes this from your wall length and target turns.
5. Choose equipment on total cost, not sticker price
Three things drive the real number: acquisition cost, utility cost per turn, and how quickly you can get a broken machine running again. Extraction speed drives the second — a 200g machine cuts dry time 15–25% against a 100g machine, and gas is the largest variable cost in the building. Parts availability drives the third.
6. Budget for the gap between opening and busy
A new store ramps over 12–18 months. You will pay full rent and full fixed costs from month one while revenue climbs. Three to six months of fixed costs in reserve is the minimum, and the lenders who tell you otherwise are not the ones paying the rent.
7. Permits, then build, then open
Expect to need a business licence, building permit, plumbing and mechanical permits, gas permit, health department sign-off in some jurisdictions, and a sign permit. Start the paperwork before demolition. Six to fourteen months from lease to opening is normal, and utility work is almost always the long pole.