BY KEELIN EVERLY-LANG for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 7/31/2026
When Steve P. bought a laundromat in 2025, he knew it would take a labor of love to turn it around. Many of the machines were broken, and the business had a reputation for being dangerous. The previous owner knew he had to sell but held on to it, hoping someone would keep it operating as a laundromat.
“He fought to keep that place, not to run it, but because he knew the community absolutely needed a laundry room there,” Steve said. “He believed that if he kept holding on to it, the right guy was going to come.”
Out of hundreds of interested buyers, Steve has proven to be that person.
Over the past year and a half, he has reinvested nearly every dollar the business earns back into improvements.
Business is up, families have a safe, clean place to wash their clothes at one of the city’s most affordable laundromats, and open drug use and violence around the store have declined.
Laundromats are often marketed as sources of passive income, but Steve said that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“This is not passive income. This takes so much sweat,” he said.
There were times, he said, when customers noticed he hadn’t been home for days.
“I would sleep on the floor when the employees were working at night. I would help them, then take a couple of hours’ nap in my office on the floor.”
Much of that success, Steve said, comes from genuinely caring about his customers and employees.
He runs the laundromat on a foundation of respect and empathy, recognizing that laundry is a necessity, not a luxury. Most of his customers live in nearby apartment complexes, many on limited incomes, balancing the cost of laundry alongside food, rent, and other essentials.
Steve describes the Hosmer community as “absolutely special.”
“It’s a large community, but there’s a level of unity,” he said.
One of the things he’s most proud of is knowing many customers by name, along with their families and the stories of how they came to the United States.
“I know their families, the story of how they came here to the U.S.,” Steve said.
Even when he isn’t physically at the laundromat, he’s often keeping an eye on it through cameras covering nearly every inch of the building.
Investments in that security system, along with an active security team from BlueFalcon next door, have made a noticeable difference in safety, he said.
The laundromat’s phone number rings directly to Steve’s cellphone, and he answers whenever he can, even though it also brings dozens of scam and telemarketing calls each day.
If there’s a broken machine, a security concern, or any other problem, he’ll either drive to the store himself or coordinate with an employee or security team member to resolve it immediately.
The relationships he’s built with customers have also inspired them to care for the business.
Steve said customers routinely sweep the floors, wipe up spills with their own towels, and call him whenever they notice a problem.
Sometimes they even help de-escalate conflicts or ask disruptive people to leave. While Steve never wants customers putting themselves in danger, he said those moments mean a great deal to him.
Those relationships have also helped him understand exactly what customers need, guiding many of the improvements he’s made.
Those reinvestments include new machines, a folding area, a loyalty program, upgraded card readers, and vending machines.
The Hosmer laundromat is Steve’s second location. He first purchased a laundromat closer to his home in Kent.
That purchase, he said, began with a midlife crisis.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Steve had a high-paying corporate job with a flexible schedule. With a wife, children, generous vacation time, and financial stability, he had checked all the boxes of success. Still, something was missing.
“I was feeling down all the time,” Steve said. “I would ask myself, ‘What have I done in my life that I’m proud of?’”
Then a senior director at his company retired after 45 years. Two weeks later, he died. The experience shook Steve.
“Not only had this man given his entire adult life to this corporation and then died before finally getting to live his life, but a week later everything is back to normal,” he said.
Steve knew he needed a change. He and his wife spent three days exploring their options before deciding to buy a small laundromat.
At first, it felt like a disaster.
The business barely made any money. Most of the machines were broken, and the property sat in the middle of an area struggling with homelessness, open drug use, and other challenges.
Steve remembers sitting in his driveway one day, unable to face his wife. Instead, he called her in tears.
Rather than giving up, he committed himself completely. For months, he spent nearly every waking hour at the laundromat, taking apart and cleaning every machine, detailing every corner of the building, and getting to know customers. He wanted to show them he was serious about creating a safe, welcoming place to do laundry.
Through those relationships, relentless work, and a laundry contract with a local hotel, both the business and the surrounding area slowly began to improve.
When the opportunity arose to purchase the Hosmer laundromat, Steve believed the same approach could work there.
While his wife initially had concerns, she became one of his strongest supporters. She helped wash and fold hotel linens, stood by him through the difficult times, and ultimately encouraged him to leave his corporate job and focus on the laundromats full time.
The challenges of building the business have also deepened Steve’s Catholic faith.
“There have been so many moments where everything seemed hopeless,” he said, “and then something would happen at the last minute.”
One of those moments came just a few weeks ago, when a new contract came through with a luxury laundry service that the team fulfills at night.
They had just lost the original contract two months before when the laundry service went looking for a better deal. That contract had helped the laundromat maintain stability and hire more staff, and it had pushed the team to maintain exceptionally high standards and detailed operating procedures.
Those standards, combined with his own commitment to quality, have helped make the laundromat exceptionally clean.
“I wash my baby’s clothes there,” Steve said. “That’s how you know a facility is clean, when the owner washes their own baby’s clothes there.”
Although the self-service laundromat continues to perform well, Steve said it generates only modest profits because he intentionally keeps prices affordable for the surrounding community.
He launched a pickup-and-delivery wash-and-fold service, but it wasn’t enough to replace the lost income.
For two months, Steve said he kept asking his employees to trust him and to join him in praying. He feared he would soon have to lay them off.
Then, just two days before he planned to deliver the news, another laundry service called with a contract opportunity.
Shortly afterward, the original luxury laundry company contacted him again and offered to restore the contract at the original rate. Steve accepted on the condition that the agreement become much more long term.
When he shared the news with his employees, “the whole team was crying and literally jumping for joy,” he said.
Today, Steve’s life is far busier than it was in the corporate world. He cares for his parents, supports his family, and operates two businesses. At any hour of the day or night, he could get a call about a broken machine, a customer issue, or another unexpected problem.
Despite the added responsibility and stress, he has no regrets. While he gave up some of the stability his corporate career provided, he said he gained humility, resilience, compassion, and a deeper sense of purpose.
“Whatever I do now, I feel more brave,” he said. “Next time, if everything is shattered … I know it will work out. It’s made me a better person. I don’t judge people anymore. I have more compassion. I’m more mature.”
Along the way, Steve has faced countless challenges, but he has also experienced moments that reminded him why he chose this path.
“The reward you get when you put all these little moments together, you see the impact,” he said. The Hosmer community, in particular, has made the experience especially meaningful.
“Ten years ago, I was at fake peace,” he said. “Today, I’m calm now. Deep down, I’m at peace.”
Making a positive difference in people’s lives is deeply fulfilling, but Steve said he’s equally grateful for what his customers have taught him.
“It’s such an interesting industry,” he said. “People choose this because of passive income. They think they’re winning at life because they can sit at home while other people work hard. But I chose this because it’s an awesome opportunity to learn.”
While some business owners choose to keep their distance from customers, Steve prefers to pull up a chair, share a cup of coffee, and talk about life.
His customers are teaching him Spanish. They tell him about their struggles, and he shares his own experiences in hopes of offering encouragement.
“It’s amazing,” Steve said. “It allows me to be more human.”
Fiat Laundry, 8711 S. Hosmer St., Suite C, Tacoma, WA
www.fiatlaundry.com
This article paid for by the Hosmer Business Association
