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Up North Laundry, located in Sault Ste. Marie at 160 Ridge Street, began in early 2013 with the grand opening of their first location in Newberry. The Newberry location was at one point a closed, empty laundromat that had been left untouched for many years. The future co-owners of Up North Laundry (Brian LeBoeuf and Ryan Bennett) decided the make the investment to turn the empty building back into a laundromat, filling a void left in the community. In 2014, the option to purchase their current location in the Sault, formerly known as Lockview Laundromat, came up and they decided to make another investment in their business. The new location was given an upgrade by refurbishing the interior, adding free WI-FI access, retooling the current machinery, adding vending machines, adding bill changers, purchasing a few arcade machines, and adding drop-off laundry service. The decision to expand their second location to Sault Ste. Marie was fueled by the market need of a full service laundromat with the close proximity of a hospital, the area draw for tourism, and the influx of college students that come every fall. After purchasing the business they completed the rehab in six months.
The owners of Up North Laundry have worked extensively with Old Mission Bank when it has come time to expand their business or other forms of assistance. With all the changes that have occurred locally, Up North Laundry currently has not seen any major impacts due to the service they offer. Their main competitors are out of the area when it comes to their Sault location and with the area seeing tourists, students, and home renters circulating in and out they continue to get new customers. Additionally, due to an increase in tourism throughout the EUP all of their locations have seen an uptick in customers.
The Sault location offers self-service coin laundry, with the machine sizes ranging from a small single load to large comforters and rugs. They also offer drop off services that is based off the weight of the laundry and how soon the patron wants their clothes back. The Sault location is open seven days a week from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM.
Up North Laundry works to listen to the community and their patrons by adding new services or machines whenever possible. They also work to listen to the communities outside of the Sault. An example of that would be the opening their third location in the Cedarville/Hessel area, which has not had a laundromat for many years. More information about Up North Laundry can be found on their Facebook page @UpNorthLaundry, you can also visit their Sault location at 160 Ridge St. or give them a call at (906) 259-7002.