How Celsious Reinvented the Laundromat Experience

The vision behind Brooklyn's eco-friendly laundry revolution

In the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, two German-born sisters, Corinna and Theresa Williams, spotted an opportunity that everyone else had overlooked. What began as Corinna's frustrating search for a decent place to wash clothes has evolved into Celsious, a laundromat that has aimed to change an industry.

Celsious opened its doors in November 2017 and is now in its eighth year of operations. Founded by sisters Corinna and Theresa Williams, what makes their story remarkable isn't just their success, but how they've continuously evolved their business model to adapt to changing times and technologies.

Challenging laundromat norms

The laundromat industry hadn't seen meaningful innovation in decades, but the Williams sisters' outsider perspective—having grown up in Germany where home washers are standard—allowed them to see possibilities where others saw only washing machines and dryers.

Corinna, who moved to New York in 2012 for a job as a fashion writer, quickly discovered the disappointing state of local laundromats. "I went to the corner laundromat and in a nutshell, did not really love my experience and then I went to the next one and also didn't love it there."

What she saw—or rather, what she didn't see—became the catalyst for Celsious. "No one had really tried to make laundry day clean, fun, accessible, and welcoming in New York, and no one had really tried to elevate the service in a way that I felt was really needed."

The concept took three to five years to fully develop. During this extensive planning period, the sisters conducted thorough market research, visiting hundreds of laundromats across New York City to understand the industry and identify opportunities for improvement. They also received incredible support from other operators in the US and abroad who had built similar laundromats, like Spin Laundry Lounge in Portland, and industry mentors.

Building a community around clean clothes

When Celsious opened in 2017, it wasn't just a place to wash clothes—it was a community hub with a café, plants, natural light, and regular events.

"In 2017 we opened as a small self-service laundromat in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with a café as well," Theresa explains. "It was a place where people were coming together, spending their days both doing laundry and getting other things done. We hosted many events with the community. It was a great start."

Celsious stood out by creating a welcoming space where doing laundry was just one part of an enjoyable social experience. However, an unexpected challenge would soon test the sisters' adaptability and vision.

The Pandemic Pivot

The pandemic forced Celsious to completely reimagine their service model.

"The pandemic hit and as an essential business, we continued to operate, but we had to suspend self-service," Theresa recalls. This moment of uncertainty became an inflection point in their business journey.

During this critical period, the sisters made two decisive moves that would permanently alter their business trajectory: they pivoted to drop-off only service, and they partnered with Cents.

"First, we signed up with Cents during the pandemic in 2020," Corinna explains. "We had pivoted to drop-off only."

Celsious

Out of necessity came innovation. The Williams sisters invented what would become their signature service: the wash dry bag.

"We pioneered the wash dry bag concept in Brooklyn," Corinna shares. "We just wash, dry, and bag things back into the bag unfolded. I remember those early conversations with Cents where we said, 'We need this other service that is not wash and fold.' Everyone was surprised at first, wondering why we'd offer that. And now we see it popping up at other stores as well."

From crisis to opportunity

What began as a temporary solution to pandemic restrictions became a permanent business advantage. The wash dry bag service proved so efficient and popular that it completely replaced their original self-service model.

"We got to a point where we actually did not reopen for self-service because we had so much volume at that point through drop-off," Theresa explains. "It just speaks to how fast that service has helped us grow and also how great Cents is developing that product."

The sisters discovered that their new service model actually improved operational efficiency. Theresa explains the mechanics: "People give us their bag with their items separated the way they want. They tell us what washer and dryer temperature they want. We move it through the equipment for them very efficiently. All within less than two hours most of the time, and they can come back and pick up their bag the same day—it's all done for them."

The benefits extended beyond customer convenience. "It's definitely streamlined our operations to the point where we can just get through much higher volumes than we were able to with self-service. So it's kind of a win-win."

This evolution wasn't just about surviving a pandemic—it was about discovering a more efficient business model that better served both customers and the bottom line.

How Technology Transformed the Fabric of Celsious

Central to Celsious's evolution was their partnership with Cents, which enabled them to add delivery services and manage operations more efficiently.

"Then we added delivery and we had so much volume," Theresa explains. The platform's capabilities changed what was possible for their business model. "None of this would have been possible without Cents," she emphasizes. "We were toying with the idea of offering pickup and delivery before, but the logistics of doing the ordering and dispatch ourselves, cobbling that together with other systems would have been pretty insurmountable."

The Cents platform allowed them to maintain their brand identity while gaining powerful technical capabilities. When setting up the app, they were able to add their own imagery to the app store, keeping it on-brand for Celsious. Their existing Active Campaign marketing infrastructure integrated with Cents, enabling them to send custom, heavily Celsious-branded automations.

As their tech stack evolved, so did their marketing strategies. "Cents Accelerate has been incredible, allowing us to expand our SMS marketing," Corinna shares. "Everyone who's a regular customer opens those text messages looking for deals. That's been huge for us."

Introducing wet cleaning to a new generation

The most recent chapter in Celsious's evolution is their venture into wet cleaning—an eco-friendly alternative to traditional dry cleaning. Launched in April 2025, it represents their continuing commitment to both innovation and sustainability.

"The newest development is that we launched wet cleaning. A fully eco-friendly dry cleaning alternative. We just added the equipment to our store this year," Theresa explains.

This addition responds to years of customer requests while maintaining their environmental standards. "We've been inundated with requests for dry cleaning for years because people have their business attire and event clothing. We were looking for dry cleaning partners initially that we were comfortable with, but we couldn't find a partner whose standard matched what we're delivering on the laundry front."

The sisters see an opportunity to bring transparency to an opaque industry. "For the customer, the process is so opaque," Theresa points out. Customers are increasingly conscious about what touches their clothing: "They really want to be informed and are specifically asking about the products that are being used on their clothes."

Lagoon Advanced Care wet cleaning by Celsious

Celsious is excited to be the first in NYC to offer this truly eco-friendly alternative to dry cleaning, in collaboration with Electrolux.

Here are some benefits of their wet cleaning method:

Water-based (as opposed to solvent-based dry cleaning)
Non-toxic
Gentle and safe on delicate textiles and wools labeled "dry clean only"
Fast and effective
Customer items will never be washed with other customers'

They're currently accepting:

Wool & cashmere sweaters/pants and accessories
Wool jackets and coats
Silk slip dresses, shirts, blouses, and tops
Suits

Entrepreneurial lessons & laundry industry insights

For entrepreneurs looking to innovate in traditional industries, the Williams sisters offer valuable insights from their eight-year journey:

1. Focus on your core strengths

The pandemic forced Celsious to concentrate on what they did best. "The pandemic helped us to really home in on what we do best and forced us to focus on that," Corinna reflects. "It's a bit of a 'slow and steady wins the race' kind of thing.

2. The Power of Saying No

Early enthusiasm led to spreading themselves too thin. "We tried out so many different things in terms of community building, collaborations," Theresa says. "But I think we spread ourselves too thin. It's so important to be mindful of sometimes saying no to certain opportunities."

3. Distinctive Branding Matters

Visual identity has been crucial to Celsious's success. "In terms of branding, let that inform your visual language," Theresa advises. "You need to set yourself apart and home in on what makes you different, what makes your business special, and try to communicate that clearly to your customers."

4. Adapt to Your Neighborhood

As Williamsburg has evolved, so has Celsious. "Williamsburg in Brooklyn, even in the 10 years that we've been here, the shifts have been extreme," Theresa observes. Understanding and responding to these demographic shifts has been key to their continued success.

5. Technology as Enabler

The right technology partnerships have been transformative. The sisters' relationship with Cents has enabled them to scale operations and add services that would otherwise have been difficult to implement independently.

The future of Celsious

As Celsious continues to evolve, the Williams sisters are poised for further expansion. With a spacious basement for processing and a constantly innovating service model, they're looking ahead to what comes next. They're fortunate to have an additional 1600 square feet of basement space where they were already doing some folding and processing, but this gives them substantial room to grow as they continue to expand.

From a self-service café laundromat to an eco-friendly, tech-enabled, multi-service operation with delivery and specialty cleaning options, Celsious has continuously evolved while staying true to its core values of sustainability, quality, and community. The Williams sisters have proven that with vision, adaptability, and the right technology partners, even the most mundane industries can be transformed.

Their journey from frustration to innovation, from pandemic crisis to strategic opportunity, offers a powerful operator spotlight in business evolution. For Celsious, every challenge has become a chance to reimagine what's possible in an industry long overdue for a fresh spin.

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