don’t knock the laundromat

”bitter brew” is a slate article by michael idov about his failed effort at running a neighborhood coffee shop. he makes a comment that “none of us would ever consider opening a laundromat,” but someone once told me that laundromats can actually be cash cows. here’s an article that suggests they can yield profit margins of 25 to 35 percent.

the person who told me this had looked into buying one, and found that one way to evaluate the business of an existing laundromat was by the amount of water they consumed. (because it is a cash business, relying on the accounting can be tricky.)