T-R PHOTOS BY THOMAS NELSON Shane and Christine Ecklor show their new laundromat which opens Wednesday on Third Avenue in Marshalltown. The business features state-of-the-art washers and dryers.

Shane and Christine Ecklor are opening a new laundromat 790 after losing one.

The Ecklors are opening a new laundromat on Third Avenue at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, located across from Casey’s. The Ecklors lost one of their laundromats in the 2018 tornado.

“The tornado destroyed our Center Street location,” said Christine.

The couple have been working on the new location since 2018 and had to buy three lots to build their 3,600 square foot new location.

They don’t have too much fanfare planned for their opening Wednesday morning.

“Just want to get the doors open and get the business running again,” Christine said.

They have 36 washers and 32 dryers in the large space, which is big enough for people to socially distance.

The Ecklors bought their first laundromat in 2002. They own Ecklor’s Sixth Street Laundromat and the Center Street laundromat until it was damaged by the 2018 tornado. The insurance money the Ecklors received gave them the opportunity to build their new locations.

“We’ve only owned and retrofitted laundromat buildings. This is our first build,” Christine said. “It was fun, it was challenging and exciting, starting from scratch.”

It takes a lot of hours to start a new business from the ground up.

“Getting this finished is huge because between the tornado and all the challenges with that, now with COVID-19 and the derecho, it’s been one thing after another,” Christine said. “This is just a big breath of fresh air.”

After long a process the Ecklors are happy to see their new laundromat open its doors to the public.

“It’s all state of the art. There’s plenty of room. It’s new, it’s bright, it’s clean. It’s in a good location. It’s two years worth of hard work,” Christine said. “It’s good for Marshalltown as a whole – seeing another business come back.”

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Contact Thomas Nelson at 641-753-6611

or tnelson@timesrepublican.com.