By KATY SAVAGE
[email protected]
CHESTER, Vt. — Demolition of the interior of the vacant laundromat building on Depot Street began this weekend.
Record Concrete Inc. owner Charlie Record, who bought the building about a month ago, hopes to convert it to office space he’ll rent to other businesses.
“I’ve always liked (the building),” said Record, who also owns an apartment building in town. “I lived in Chester all my life. I was hoping to do something besides let it sit there, empty.”
Record is waiting for permit approval and expects it to be August before the interior of the building is ready to be renovated.
The building has been empty about a year.
Nancy and Bill Lindsay, who owned the structure for 20 years, closed the laundromat in March 2017.
“The water bill and sewer bill was being increased at such a rate that they basically put us out of business,” Bill Lindsay explained.
The Lindsays live across the street from the laundromat. They paid about $6,000 a year for water and sewer and anticipated the costs to keep increasing every six months. They charged customers $2.50 to $4 per wash and said they couldn’t justify increasing the rates.
“You’re serving people who in many cases have limited income,” Bill Lindsay said.
Nancy Lindsay said they subsidized customers by covering the increased expenses with their own money just to keep the business going.
“We worked seven days a week,” Bill Lindsay added.
“Chester no longer has a drug store. Chester no longer has a laundromat,” said Lindsay. “We have no services in Chester for the average worker — that’s sad.”
Lindsay is a former selectboard member who has lived in Chester about 50 years.
The Lindsays sold their commercial washer and dryers to a laundromat in Maine last year.
Though Lindsay enjoyed a recent Sunday night without needing to clean the laundromat or service the machines, he missed his regulars.
“The thing we’re going to miss about it? We had some very nice customers and we’re going to miss seeing those people on a regular basis,” he said.
“I’m sad to not be able to serve those folks” Bill Lindsay said.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.