From Beijing to Long Beach…

By Bob Nieman | Apr 27, 2009

“Business has always been like a hobby to me,” said Les Hong. “It’s trial and error. I’m not afraid to try something new.”

Apparently, neither is the rest of the Hong family

“My brother owned a couple of commercial buildings here in California,” Hong related. “But he sold everything and moved to Arizona to buy two Chevron stations. And my father invested with him and also bought two of them himself out there. With business, we just go with the flow and try things out.”

The Hong family story began almost 30 years ago in China when Les’ father, Benny, who is from Beijing, and his mother, who is from Hong Kong, packed up their belongings and traveled by ship to the United States. Upon arriving in California, the couple moved in with Benny’s brother for a few months while working odd jobs and saving up their money.

Not long after coming to the U.S., Les was born. Then, in 1984, Benny Hong had finally saved enough cash to open a small grocery store. And, within a couple of years, he purchased a few more stores, as well as some commercial buildings. The Hongs are hard workers, avid savers and shrewd businesspeople. As a result, Les grew up learning the keys to running a successful retail business.

“My parents have been in the retail business since I was born,” explained Les Hong, who currently runs Magnolia Liquors in Long Beach, which has been a Hong family-run business for more than 15 years. “My father has four commercial buildings in Long Beach. He lets the kids take care of the businesses, and we pay him rent. Of course, he also has other tenants as well.”

Hong’s sister still operates the family’s very first retail business, Corky’s Market.

In addition, Hong has picked up a new “hobby” within the last year or so – the self-service laundry business… two of them, to be exact.

He bought his first laundry in April 2007, a 2,800-square-foot facility in Long Beach called Sudsy Laundry. It was an existing store in which the previous owner had to deal with urgent family obligations out of the country and, therefore, needed to sell the store quickly.

Hong was in the right place at the right time.

“I had the retail experience, and we figured I wouldn’t have to actually be there that much,” Hong said. “I would have to hire an attendant to be there, but then I could run it and run my other business as well. It seemed like a lot less work than the liquor store or the market. You don’t have to be there all the time. You don’t have to buy merchandise. You just have to keep the machines running.”

Then, just as Hong was getting used to being a new laundry owner, opportunity knocked again. This time it was in the form of another existing coin laundry in Long Beach – and in a 3,000-square-foot building that Benny Hong owned and was leasing to the store owner.

Les already owned Sudsy and was growing familiar with the business. But, this time, father and son decided to team up, forming Hong Wash, LLC.

“I didn’t have enough cash flow to cover this one,” Hong explained. “My father said he would cover the cash, and I could cover the labor.”

The facility previously had been a successful laundry, so the Hongs knew it had a strong customer base and the great location. However, for some unknown reason, the operator chose not to pick up his lease.

“When we got the building back, it was just four walls,” explained Hong, who began work on his second store last summer. “We thought it would require only minor construction – just install a few folding tables and so on. But we ended up having to do almost a complete construction.”

For example, the store’s three-phase wiring had to be converted to single-phase, some of the pipes were discovered to be broken, and a complete plumbing overhaul was required.

Fortunately, the Hongs were able to use the same contractor who handled the laundry’s initial construction.

“He knew the whole layout and still had the original plans, so he submitted them right back to the city,” Hong said. “The only new plans that needed to be drawn up were the electrical plans. All in all, everything went pretty smoothly.”

The construction process, including equipment, ended up costing approximately $650,000 and taking nearly six months to complete. And, for a good portion of those six months, the store’s former laundry customers were constantly inquiring as to when the laundry would open up again.

“The store had been there for five year,” Hong explained. “The clientele was amazing, which is why I didn’t understand why the original owner didn’t pick up the lease. The customers were actually waiting for us to open.”

In January, the Highway Coin Laundry reopened for business, and it has been busy ever since. “In fact, I even had customers coming in and doing their wash a few days before we officially opened, because I knew them from the original store,” Hong said.

Overall, the market features an even mix of Hispanic, African-American, Caucasian and Asian customers, mainly in the lower to middle income bracket.

“We have a lot of apartments around us,” Hong admitted. “There are about 10 apartment buildings right behind the store and another strip of apartment complexes across the street.”

Located on the busy Pacific Coast Highway in a three-unit strip mall owned by Benny Hong – and with numerous restaurants and another strip mall nearby – the Highway Coin Laundry is located in a high-traffic area running through Long Beach.

Of course, with a strong laundry location come other laundries. Hong noted that his new store has at least three nearby competitors.

However, he feels that the Highway – open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily – tops the other laundries, thanks to its high-quality equipment, spotless interior and helpful staff. “We also have televisions, ample seating and vending options, and are in the process of installing a children’s play area,” said Hong, who currently employs two part-time attendants at his new store.

This father-son tandem certainly knows how to keep their customers happy. “Just work hard,” Benny offered. “Always remember that your customers keep you up and running, so be kindest to them and treat them right.”

The Hongs also believe in pricing right and giving their customers the best value possible.

“Running the laundry is fairly simple,” Les shared. “The only challenge we faced was setting the vend pricing in a very competitive market. But with new high-speed extraction washers and more efficient dryers, drying time is less, so customers are in and out faster. It frees up folding tables, parking spaces and equipment. We focus on good, fair pricing – not gimmicks like free drying that could hurt our business.”

At the outset, Hong also has focused on ancillary services, such as wash-dry-fold and commercial laundry work. However, while he soon discovered a complete lack of interest in wash-dry-fold services in his marketplace, Hong has already been able to land a few commercial accounts with smaller hotels in the area.

“We have some accounts, and we’re working on more,” said Hong, who handles the linen pickup and delivery himself.

Perhaps the biggest surprise Hong has faced since opening his second store is what he refers to as “the quarter situation.” Since Sudsy is currently a card-operated laundry, the Highway was his first experience with a true “coin” laundry.

“When we opened up over here, it was pretty busy,” he laughed. “And the changers were small, so I had to keep coming back here to refill them. But now we seem to have the system down.”

Does that mean there is another laundry in Hong’s near future?

“Definitely,” he said. “I would like to completely switch over to the laundromat industry and leave the liquor business. We’re actually looking for a few new laundry locations right now.”