At This Coin Laundry, You Can Bank on a Burger and a Cup of Coffee

It may look like any other mini-mall from the outside. But inside, the Lucy’s LaundryMart “multi-complex” in east Hollywood reveals itself as an unusual kind of retail property.

Visitors who open the double-glass doors and enter the 9,000-square-foot building find a coin laundry, mini-market, Wells Fargo bank branch, Burger King and--as of this week--a pint-size Starbucks coffee outlet all lined up under one roof.

It can be a bit disorienting for people heading in to buy a burger or a cup of coffee when they are confronted with the aroma of soapy suds. But this new arrangement makes available a welcome array of brand-name, mainstream retailers that are often in short supply in such neighborhoods, said Randy Landsberger, a partner at Torrance-based Lucy’s LaundryMart Inc.

The concept eases some of the financial risk for retailers who might be reluctant to make the costly go-it-alone investment of opening an outlet in low-income neighborhoods.

Instead of spending about $1.2 million to build the usual free-standing fast-food operation, for example, Burger King spent just $250,000 to open its store inside Lucy’s, where the sparkling-clean laundry--with its 130 machines, skylights and television sets--draws at least 750 customers a day to the facility.

“This is a big savings for them,” said Landsberger, whose company has opened four similar but smaller-scale mini-malls in other low-income areas. “The economics would not work as a free-standing location.”

Except for the laundry, which also includes a small room where kids can watch TV cartoons, the other businesses are smaller-scale versions of their full-size cousins. The Starbucks outlet, for example, occupies less than 500 square feet. Wells Fargo serves its banking customers in an area not much larger than the living room of a suburban tract home.

Customers are finding the convenience to their liking, and the businesses are benefiting from the shared traffic. Last week, Patrick Lawlor had a meal at Burger King while his clothes were in the washers at Lucy’s just yards away.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Lawlor, a 25-year-old actor. “If we [step away to] eat, we don’t have to worry about people taking our clothes out of the dryer.”

Workers at the tiny Wells Fargo branch sometimes walk between the rows of washers and dryers, introducing themselves to potential customers and passing out souvenirs, said banking officer Lupita Alvarado. “The customers are very impressed that we have taken the bank to them instead of them having to come to the bank.”