We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ken Sandy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ken, thanks for joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

We collaborate multiple times throughout the year with Dress for Succes, Sasha Bruce, A Wider Circle, Marthas Table to perfrom call to actions in our extensive client relationship reach for gently used clothing. We arrange full logistics on pick up, clean and restore them then full delivery drop.

Additionally we allow artists and creatives from underserved communities to display a permanent art display in all of our retail locations, we pay them for this installation and it becomes part of that stores brand for life.

We also host an annual Dryy Run 5K where we define a hyper local community change agent to bring visibility to by way of donations and support. We create an intersection of community, culture and commerce by way of fun fitness and philanthropy.

Ken, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We are a reimagined, revolutionized Dry Cleaning business that offers a multiservice channel to meet our dryy members at their preferred method whether it be technology via our Dryy Drop Laundry Lockers installed in over 4oo communities here in the dmv or human engagement via one of our galvanized retail drop stores or traditional valet to your home or work.

We offer full services in Dry Cleaning, Laundry, alterations, specialty such as shoes, leather, linen with free pick up and delivery.

We completely separate our selves by responding to our social responsibility as a small business by immersing ourselves in our community and impacting measurable change.

We are not only proud in that we changed the way DC does laundry but that we use our platform to be a brand that folks can trust to inject value into the very communities we serve.

Have you ever had to pivot?

We rebranded and delivered our business model to the community 2019, shortly thereafter the pandemic grounded our business. We had no idea what to do. We knew we wanted to help and had resources such as staff, mobile vans, a production facility and an extensive client list of people also wanting to help.

We helped our retail neighbors with free laundry on back of the house linens, we ran food drives and delivered to many food outposts in the community, we performed weekly call to actions on anything that could be donated to help those in need. This catapulted our brand as a real community change agent.

Thereafter we also diversified our business model and got into restoration. We assist families in need at time of loss such as fire or flood in restoring their items and helping them reclaim their life.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met my business partner, co-f0under by bringing the laundry locker technology business to the DMV. He was not doing locker technology and as we were disrupting the multifamily arena with the locker concept he noticed as he was losing market share. He had a very successful traditional valet service that operated through the concierge staff of buildings. Our lockers mitigated that by taking they dry cleaning task and freeing up much needed time.

We agreed that merging would create a unified front and our combined skill sets would enable us to do great things.

It was an absolute no brainer and we could not be more pleased on the agreement to merge, partner and define a collaborative vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: dryydc.com   
• Instagram: @dryydc
• Linkedin: Dryy Garment Care