Mission Coffee House – a shop with purpose
‘I’ve already lived my worst days on earth’
June 16, 2025
FOND DU LAC – Georgetown Cleaners & Laundry first opened its doors in the City of Fond du Lac in 1959, under the ownership and management of George Morris – hence the name.
In 1968, Georgetown was purchased by Jim and Cathy Hensland – relatives of Morris’ by marriage – who owned it until the end of last year, when the Pelletier family purchased it and took over management.
Even though the Pelletier family is not related to any of the previous owners, the business remains a family owned and operated business, continuing the Georgetown legacy of being a family operation.
And, just like the Morris and Hensland families, the Pelletiers said they are no strangers to the laundry business.
Buck Dumanch – general manager of Georgetown – said his father-in-law and uncle-in-law – Jim and Gary Pelletier, respectively – own and operate a laundromat in Madison and one in Verona.
In addition, Dumanch said Jim and his wife, MaryAnn – his father- and mother-in-law – also own another laundromat in Fond du Lac – East Johnson Laundry, which they started in February 2021, remodeling the former barber shop/hair salon and building a new laundromat in its place.
“East Johnson Laundry was started by my in-laws as a brand-new business,” he said.
Dumanch said his in-laws were approached last year by the owners of Georgetown Laundry, asking if they’d have an interest in buying the business and continuing it as a family owned and operated laundry and dry cleaning business.
“My in-laws asked me if I wanted to head up the project and be the general manager of the store, given my past experience with people and customer service,” he said. “I felt I had to give it a shot. (Today), I’m not only the general manager of the Georgetown location, but I also co-own it with Jim and Gary. We wanted to keep the name ‘Georgetown’ because it’s been a staple in Fond du Lac since it opened in 1959.”
For the past nearly 10 years, Dumanch said he worked as a service advisor for Holiday Automotive, leaving there last November, when the sale of Georgetown became official.
“Having a dry cleaning business was a first for us,” he said. “We all came from knowing very little about that. The family was mostly accustomed to laundromats. But the glorious part of it is that when we bought the (business), it came with all the employees. And all of them were pretty much long-term employees, so they’ve been able to help me a lot.”
What’s new?
Located at 399 S. Main St., Dumanch said Georgetown Cleaners & Laundry has been rated Fond du Lac’s best and most trusted laundromat and dry cleaner for more than 50 years – a reputation the Pelletier family is working hard to ensure continues.
One thing they’ve done toward accomplishing that, Dumanch said, is put all new washers and dryers in the laundromat.
He said they’ve also expanded the hours the laundromat is open.
“When we took over, the laundromat was only open during the hours the dry cleaning business was open,” he said. “But we’ve added what people may think of or recognize as a mall gate by the dry cleaning business counter, so at the end of the day, the dry cleaning business employees can just close the gate and the laundromat can still be open for business as customers need it.”
Dumanch said the laundromat is now open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week – the same hours as at East Johnson Laundry.
Unlike laundromats of days gone by, Dumanch said Georgetown’s (and East Johnson’s, for that matter) washers and dryers accept more than just coins.
The SpyderWash system, he said, provides customers the convenience of using coins, credit/debit cards, loyalty cards and/or RFID contactless credit cards.
“SpyderWash is basically our point-of-sale system,” he said. “It’s a card-pay system where you can load money onto a card or you can use a credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, whatever it might be, and that will pay for the washer.”
Laundry, dry cleaning services
In addition to being a self-serve laundromat, Dumanch said Georgetown offers professional full-service laundry and dry cleaning services.
Some of the many services offered include:
- Full-service dry cleaning and pressing
- Free pick-up and delivery
- Same-day service
- Wash, dry and fold services
- Bulk laundry services
- Comforters, bedspreads, linens and pressed shirt laundry
- Roll towel service
- Route services for residential and commercial accounts
“Our bulk laundry services include towels, lab coats, veterinarian uniforms, band and choir uniforms and other uniforms and costumes – pretty much anything that’s not in normal laundry, like shirts, pants, dresses and those kinds of things,” he said. “If you wear it, we’ll clean it, for the most part.”
Furthermore, Dumanch said Georgetown also services businesses with their floor mats and uniforms at car repair and auto body places, couch and chair cushions, car covers and car seat covers and boat covers.
Georgetown, he said, also does free repairs and customized alterations.
Currently, Dumanch said Georgetown provides free route service to Fond du Lac, Ripon, Green Lake, Waupun, Columbus, Horicon, Mayville and Lomira, with more areas to come in the future, including Omro.
“We also have multiple drop-off locations in other smaller towns,” he said. “In Ripon, we have two drop-off locations and a self-service drop-off at the Shell Ultimart on the west side of town and a drop-off at Splish Splash Clothes Bath on the other end.”
Dumanch said Georgetown also has dry cleaning drop-offs at Ace Hardware in Horicon and Ace Hardware in Columbus.
He said the goal is to make laundry services, whatever they may be, accessible for everyone.
“I want to be able to make it easy for people to experience laundry and dry cleaning services without having to drive 50 miles to Fond du Lac or without having to drive to Oshkosh,” he said. “They can drive to a local gas station, for example, drop their items off and pick them up the following week. It’s super simple. Or if they’re on a route of ours, we can just come and pick it up and bring it back the next time we’re by them… Our price is the same if they bring it into the store or if they’re on a route.”
Dry cleaning 101
Though some garments or fabrics are dry cleaned only – even saying so on the cleaning label – Dumanch said dry cleaning can also be done for many other items.
“Dry cleaning, as a whole, has gone down, especially since COVID-19,” he said. “Not a lot of people know about dry cleaning, the benefits of it or the various services we offer. So, I’m trying to get that information out there more to people. Dry cleaning is more sterile because it uses a hydrocarbon solution versus what used to be used – a common solvent known as PERC (short for perchloroethylene).”
Dumanch said PERC was used industry-wide because of its ability to dissolve grease, oil and wax without damaging fabrics.
But because of its health and environmental risks, he said most dry cleaning services no longer use it.
Those who do, Dumanch said, are required to follow regulations to minimize emissions and protect workers and the public.
“Instead of PERC, we use a green clean method,” he said. “It still has a solvent that helps break down a lot of chemicals, oils, grease and things like that, and it actually leaves your fabrics feeling softer because there’s a conditioner in there.”
Giving back to community
The Pelletier family said it understands the importance of giving back to communities that have embraced them over the years, and are now supporting them through Georgetown Cleaners & Laundry.
The family said it is actively involved in several local, state and national organizations, including:
- Fond du Lac Association of Commerce
- Wisconsin Fabricare Institute
- Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute
- Greater Envision Fond du Lac
- Coats for Kids Drive
- Salvation Army partnerships
- ADVOCAP partnerships
ADVOCAP, Dumanch said, is especially important to them because it touches on so many aspects of the life of someone in need – focusing on a variety of things, including homeless prevention, affordable housing, transportation, nutrition services, home repairs, home energy assistance, GED/HSED programs, Head Start and workforce development.
Dumanch said Georgetown has teamed up with ADVOCAP to help some of its clients.
“(Georgetown) matches whatever amount of money (ADVOCAP) puts (into an account) for the less fortunate in the community to be able to do their laundry,” he said. “So, they’ve put in $200, and I’ve matched that amount. They use the SpyderWash system and the money is loaded into it.”
Gradual growth
Dumanch said he certainly wants to grow the business, but wants to do it gradually and at a reasonable pace.
“I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, especially when I’m still learning things about the business,” he said. “I want to step into it slowly and see what else it offers. My main goal right now is to bring back a lot of the customers who might have been lost to different facilities and things over the years, and to increase the number of people who are on a route.”
In addition to managing the day-to-day operations, Dumanch said he also does the maintenance on the machines.
“Because of my mechanical background, I do a lot of the maintenance on the machines myself,” he said. “If it’s something really major, and I’m not able to repair it on my own, we have a company in Milwaukee (we contract).”
As far as learning a brand new business and industry, Dumanch said he’s learning just as he has over the last 29 years of his professional life – “I throw myself into it and hope for the best.”
“Some of the positions I’ve had, I’ve pretty much been thrown into the fire,” he said. “You sink or swim, and I’ve just kind of adapted to that. If I can’t figure it out, I learn how to figure it out.”
At the end of the day, Dumanch said customers want their product and they want it done well.
“That’s the key to success in any business: you want to make the customer happy as best as you can within reason,” he said.
Learn more at georgetowncleaners.com or on Georgetown Cleaners & Laundry’s Facebook page.
