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NEW LIFE FOR LEGACY BUSINESS IN GOODLAND
Geremy Cloyd grew up in Goodland, and when he was a young boy, his grandfather would bring him along on trips to the laundromat on Main Avenue. The owner, Gary Garrett, would give Geremy tokens or coins to get a treat out of the candy machines. That fond hometown memory stayed with Geremy into adulthood, and helped shape a business dream.
Geremy’s wife, Angie, recalls that he frequently talked about wanting to buy Garrett's Liquor & Laundry in Goodland. Every time he came back to town to visit his parents, Geremy would stop in and ask Gary, “Are you ready to sell yet?”
“He had that dream from when he was a pretty young kid,” Angie shared. “Because of that positive memory, we would look for laundromats for sale, but nothing ever came of it.”
Gary Garrett continued to run the liquor store and laundromat until his health began to decline. At the time, Geremy and Angie owned two bars in Salt Lake City – but they promptly made the decision to sell both the businesses, and their home, and moved back to Goodland to keep the legacy business alive.
FORWARD VISION
Since taking over ownership, Geremy and Angie have been focused on filling the needs expressed by their customers. They quickly realized there was a demand for longer business hours at both the laundromat and liquor store.
“After extending our hours at the laundromat to 9 p.m., we noticed that people were still coming in, later at night, to do laundry, because lots of people work during the day,” Angie said. “When we saw that, we decided to open it 24 hours.”
They also made improvements to the laundromat: new flooring and paint, a second large-capacity washer, TVs and speakers, free WiFi, an updated change machine, and new surveillance cameras for increased security.
At the liquor store, Geremy and Angie also noticed an opportunity to increase business.
“Our customers were always telling us that they were going out of town on Sundays to buy alcohol,” Angie explained.
In response, Geremy worked closely with local leaders to push for new rules to allow Sunday sales.
“We were very passionate about getting it passed so that money, those tax dollars, could stay in our community,” Angie said.
For decades, the liquor store had been cash-only, but after talking to customers, the new owners wanted to offer more payment options.
“One thing that we heard from customers is that they didn’t always have cash, so we wanted to make sure we accepted credit cards and even Apply Pay. That was huge.”
NEW OFFERINGS
Geremy and Angie were also eager to give customers a taste of something new and different.
“Beers, wines and liquors – it’s always changing. So, we’re always trying to bring new things, based on what our customers tell us they like and want,” Angie said.
“Each day, we have different products for customers to sample, which gives them the opportunity to try new things before they go and buy the whole bottle and then maybe learn they don’t like it.”
Geremy and Angie also began hosting special events to let customers sample different types of wine, beer or whiskey.
“We focused first on highlighting products made in Kansas, wineries and distilleries, so people can get a taste of what is available throughout the state,” Angie said.
“The feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive,” Angie shared. “People love having something new to go out and do together.”
FACING CHALLENGES
Running a business in a rural community comes with some unique challenges, and Angie warns you’ll need some patience.
“The biggest challenged that we’ve experienced are that since we’re out in western Kansas, it takes a lot longer for distributors to get us on their schedule. They might go to the rest of the state weekly, but only come out to Goodland monthly.”
It also takes longer to schedule certain projects, Angie warned.
“HVAC repairs, laying tile – those jobs require specialty skills. There are only so many people who can do that in a small community, and they have other jobs going on,
Angie explained. “You have to wait until they have availability.”
ROOM TO GROW IN GOODLAND
Angie says people with the entrepreneurial spirit who would like to open a new business shouldn’t be discouraged by Goodland’s rural location.
“There are a lot of business opportunities that could be very, very successful here, just by offering something a little different,” Angie said. “If you are offering a high-quality product, people will be willing to make a special trip.”
Angie also stressed the importance of reliability.
“We never close even a minute early. If someone comes when you said you’re open, and you’re not there, they might not ever come back.”
Angie says listening to your customers always pays off.
“The biggest piece of advice I would give is to structure the business around the customer and the needs of the community.”
Doing that has already inspired the couple to open another new business in town – a storage facility, called Lock It Up Storage, that opened in the fall and began to fill up immediately.
SWEET SUCCESS
For Geremy and Angie, the goal is always to provide the best customer experience.
To that end, they always keep candy at the liquor store to give to kids who come in with their parents or grandparents. What kind of candy? Angie credits a customer with giving them the idea.
“A girl asked, ‘Is it licorice?’ which sounds like ‘liquor-ish.’ Geremy thought that was so great. Now we always have licorice for kids.”
Garrett's Liquor & Laundry
918 Main Avenue, Goodland, Kansas 67735
(785) 890-5972
Liquor Store Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 9 am - 9 pm
Fri-Sat: 9 am - 11 pm
Sunday: Noon - 7pm
Laundromat Hours:
Daily (365 days a year): open 24 hours a day
Lock It In Storage
Home - Lock It In Storage
