TAMPA, Fla. — We've seen restaurants big and small go all-in on delivery. Now a local family owned and operated dry cleaners is launching a new service.
"This is, you know, the way the world is working right now. People are uncomfortable leaving their homes," Elizabeth Montante said.
Montante and her husband Mike operate the only ZIPS Dry Cleaners franchise in South Tampa at 2206 S. Dale Mabry, next to Plant High School.
They are launching their new service, Laundry by ZIPS, to give customers more options to clean their clothes.
"There are people that are at home. This is just one less thing they don't have to worry about," Montante said.
"We pick it up; we do all the laundry, fold it put in a plastic bag, put it back in the laundry and bring it back to you the next day," Montante said.
They currently have one driver for the door-to-door service. But, Montante said she's ready to hit the road too.
"To be honest, it might just be Mike and I delivering to you, which isn't a bad thing," Montante said. "We do have one employee now, and he will be delivering for us. Hopefully, the business picks up well, and we will be able to create full jobs for others."
There is no delivery fee for the new service. Montante said business is slowly coming back. But, not to levels they saw pre-pandemic.
"How can we be the best in this business? And, I would say that laundry and delivery is just falling in line. We are just pushing it up further so we can come out on top," Montante said.
