By Timothy Oommen, Owner — Laundini Laundromat | laundinilaundromat.com
There is a 140-bed subsidized senior living facility directly across the street from our Laundini location on Emerson Street in Evanston.
I have walked past it hundreds of times. On the way in to open. On the way out after a long day. In the middle of the night during buildout when I was the only one still there.
And for a while I walked past it the way you walk past anything that’s always been there — without really seeing it.
Then one day I did see it. And once I saw it I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
What I Started Thinking About
The residents of that building are 75 and older. Many are on fixed incomes. Many are in a phase of life where the physical tasks that used to be simple — carrying a hamper, waiting through a wash cycle, folding a full load — have become genuinely difficult or impossible. Laundry doesn’t stop being necessary because you’re 80. It just gets harder.
And there I am, across the street, with a laundromat and a pickup and delivery operation.
The proximity is almost absurd. The gap between what those residents need and what we do is about fifty feet of Emerson Street.
So I started thinking about what a real partnership could look like. Not a token gesture. Not a press release. Something that actually makes a material difference in the daily lives of people who have earned the right to have fewer things to worry about.
What We’re Proposing
I want to be upfront: this is not yet finalized. I’m writing this post because I believe in being honest about what I’m building, and this is something I’m actively building.
Here is what I’m working toward:
Heavily discounted pickup and delivery for residents. A rate that reflects the reality of subsidized senior living — not our standard residential rate, something meaningfully lower. The logistics are already solved. The laundromat is across the street. The van is already running routes in Evanston. The incremental cost of adding a senior living facility fifty feet away is minimal. That savings should go to the residents, not to our margin.
Scheduled weekly pickups from the facility. No app required. No online booking. A standing schedule — same day, same time, every week — so residents or facility staff can set it and forget it. Laundry gets picked up, washed correctly, folded, and returned. No carrying, no waiting, no coins.
Fragrance-free and hypoallergenic options as standard. Older skin is more sensitive. We’d default to gentle, fragrance-free detergent for this partnership rather than making residents request it. The right default rather than the standard one.
A direct line to reach us. Not an app. Not a booking form. A phone number or email that goes to a real person — Sonu, or me directly — who can handle any issue, question, or special request. The demographic that built this country deserves to be able to talk to a human being when they need to.
Why This Matters to Me Personally
I’m the son of immigrants. I grew up watching my parents and their generation work extraordinarily hard in ways that often went unrecognized and unrewarded. The idea of someone who has worked their entire life, who has paid into this society for decades, sitting in a subsidized senior facility struggling with something as basic as laundry — that bothers me in a specific way.
We talk a lot in this country about honoring older generations. We talk about it. We put it on greeting cards. What I’m interested in is doing something concrete about it, in the specific place where I have the specific means to do something.
Fifty feet away. A laundromat. A delivery truck. A team.
The pieces are there. I just need to put them together properly.
What I’m Working On Right Now
I’m in the process of reaching out to the facility management to have an initial conversation. I want to understand what the residents actually need — not assume I know — before I walk in with a proposal. That’s how I approached Tony’s bars and it’s the right approach here too.
Questions I want answered:
- What does the current laundry situation look like for residents?
- Is laundry handled individually, communally, or by facility staff?
- What would a pickup and delivery partnership need to look like to actually be used?
- Are there residents who would benefit most — mobility limitations, no family support nearby?
- What does the facility management need to see from us to feel confident in a partnership?
I don’t want to show up with a solution before I understand the problem. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way in other contexts.
What I’m Asking From You
If you know someone at this facility — a resident, a family member of a resident, a staff member — I’d love an introduction or a conversation. The fastest path to getting this right is talking to people who actually know what’s needed.
If you’re involved in senior care, social services, or community organizing in Evanston or the broader Cook County area and you have thoughts on what a program like this should look like — email me at info@laundinilaundromat.com. I’m genuinely open to input.
And if you’re reading this and you just want to tell me this is a good idea — that’s appreciated too. This kind of work is easier to sustain when it’s visible and supported by the community it’s meant to serve.
The Bigger Picture
Laundini started as a laundromat on Emerson Street that almost broke me to build. It became a pickup and delivery service because I went back to what I know. It grew to four locations because the model worked.
But I’ve always believed that a business embedded in a community has an obligation to that community that goes beyond providing a service for payment. Not because it’s good marketing — though it is. Because it’s right.
The senior living facility across the street is the most obvious expression of that obligation I’ve ever seen. It’s fifty feet away. The residents need something we can provide. The only question is how to do it properly.
I’m working on the answer. Watch this space.
If you want to support this initiative, share this post. If you have a connection to the facility or to senior services in Evanston, email info@laundinilaundromat.com. And if you’d like to book a residential or commercial pickup in the meantime — laundinilaundromat.com. All of Cook County, $1.50/lb, free delivery, 24-hour turnaround.
Timothy Oommen is the founder and owner of Laundini Laundromat, with locations in Evanston, Bucktown, Skokie, and Wheeling, IL.