Local business stays in the family

KateLynn Slaamot
NLJ Correspondent
 
Bob and Dorene Keever purchased the Laundry Basket in 2008, ready and eager to invest in something. Now, 12 years later, their daughter Jennifer Liggett and her boyfriend, Justin Kolbeck, decided to make an investment of their own, taking over the laundromat in July of this year. 
“It was a good business,” Dorene Keever said. “We (Bob and Dorene) were just both ready to retire.”
While the Keever’s enjoyed their years of ownership, and they met many people, from locals to travelers, the couple was ready to hand over ownership to someone else. Liggett’s interest in the business was the perfect opportunity. 
“That made it pretty easy,” Dorene said. 
Liggett is an emergency room nurse in Gillette and Kolbeck works for Black Thunder Coal Mine as a millwright. However, the couple wanted something of their own to benefit them and their combined six children. 
“This is a new experience for both of us,” Liggett said. While the laundromat is a pretty simple business to learn, Liggett and Kolbeck agree there’s going to be a learning curve for the first-time business owners. 
Although balancing children, the laundromat, plus their full-time jobs, the couple has hopes for the business, they said. 
Kolbeck expressed their desires for the business to really flourish with their drop-off services. Dorene had offered the service for a while when she owned it, but it had tapered off later on. Liggett would like to resume drop-off services, hoping to make the business more of a full-time gig so she can be home with the kids more. Kolbeck noted that they would like to gauge the community’s interest in the service, he said, and people are welcome to give them a call to offer their opinions. 
“We are willing to be flexible with hours,” Liggett said, and Kolbeck added that if people need to get into the laundromat, the couple is willing to open the doors earlier or stay open later. 
“People can just call,” Kolbeck said. 
One of the most important things to the new entrepreneurs is transparency, they said. They are well aware that machines break down or eat quarters, and they are eager to do the best they can to help their customers. If people just call or leave a note, Kolbeck and Liggett will do their best to fix the problem, they said. Maintaining the same level of service is a huge thing, and the couple said that they are all about doing what the customers need. 
Dorene said she was grateful for the community’s support through the year, and she hopes Liggett and Kolbeck will receive the same support. Liggett said that she has already met some great people, and the customers often ask her how her parents are doing. 
“I hope she enjoys it as much as we did,” Dorene said. 
The Laundry Basket is located at 1515 W. Main St., and people are welcome to call Liggett at (307) 680-1383 or Kolbeck at (605) 760-5281.