‘Clean’ re-start : Pec Laundromat open again

By George Howe

CORRESPONDENT

    When Mike and Lisa Freier moved to Pecatonica back in 2000, they saw right away how apparent small-town friendliness was from the people on the street just saying hello. They were planning on starting a family and the solid reputation of the school district re-enforced their decision. Fast-forward to the present and you’ll find that both have made a positive impact on the community.

    Mike, a Navy veteran and who spent a good part of his career in construction, decided to change direction and is now the local Country Financial agent in town. Lisa spent many years in the banking industry, as well, as a fortune 500 analyst and currently helps with marketing in Mike’s enterprise. Both are active in the local Lion’s Club, Historical Society, and American Legion.

    With a keen sense for running a business, the couple bought the building at 111 W. 4th Street in the summer of 2022 that housed a laundromat.  “We fell in love with the building and realized that when we walked out of the closing that we needed to open the doors so people could do their laundry,” Lisa explained.  She admitted that it was a little slow at the beginning as there was confusion about whether it was open. “We purchased an LED ‘open’ sign, and more people started to trickle – in which was a relief.”

    As the Fourth Street Laundromat once again provided a place to wash clothes, in May of 2023 the building suffered a fire because one of the residential apartments upstairs had wiring issues. “We needed to add another water heater for the residents upstairs and a combination of old timber, sparks, and smoldering caused the blaze that fortunately was mostly cosmetic,” Lisa explained. “We are very thankful to all the firefighters that came quickly. Without them, it could have been much worse.”

    Mike and Lisa went about putting things back in order, from having the laundromat cleaned and painted to helping get rid of the smoke damage and smell. The equipment was re-conditioned and brought back. “It was a little heartbreaking to lose the pink and green wallpaper that felt kind of homey and grew on me,” lamented Lisa.

    With everything back in order, the doors re-opened on June 18. “We are very excited to once again provide this service to our residents,” said Lisa. “When I’m at the laundromat cleaning up, it’s so nice to meet people and talk about how many came in as kids with their parents.”

    When you roll your clothes cart in or carry a bag over your shoulder like Santa on Christmas, you’ll find 13 machines that are reasonably priced at $2 dollars a load for the smaller washers and $4.50 for a larger load. “Several people have asked us why we haven’t raised our prices,” said Lisa. “We both understand profit margins and didn’t want to raise our prices to make it affordable for the community, which is really what it’s all about.”