The Barstool Fund - Pony Express Cleaners
Up next: Pony Express Cleaners (Scottsdale, AZ)
Family owned and operated, Pony Express is Arizona’s largest green cleaners. The business is newly remodeled with new, up-to-date equipment and features dry cleaning, wet cleaning and environmentally safe "GREEN" cleaning at no extra charge.
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Dear El Presidente,
I'm applying to the Barstool Fund for our family dry cleaning business, Pony Express Cleaners in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our website is here – ponyexpresscleaners.com We have been in business for fifteen years, opening our first store in 2005. We survived the great recession of 2008-2009. We acquired our second location in 2015. We have a staff of 12 who we consider family – some of who offered to work for free in an effort to save costs during the pandemic. We are the dry cleaning and laundry provider for 35 hotels in the Valley, a handful of restaurants, and a movie theater chain called Harkins Cinemas. The downturn in the hospitality industry as well as the move to remote working has directly affected our business. Our clients are not going out to restaurants, attending parties, or hosting events and therein no need for dry cleaning. With no guests staying in these hotels, we have no revenue from our commercial business. Our customers are not going to their offices and thus no retail dry cleaning. Our revenue was down 90% between April and August. Our revenue is down 75%. We have watched five dry cleaners around us close. The walls are caving in. We are forecasting that we can make it to January. If things remain the same, we have no choice but to close. We have taken active measures to try and stay afloat including participating in federal loan programs. However, these funds are running out as the economic slowdown continues. We will be forced to close our business if we don't receive another lifeline. We need six months. Hopefully by that time our economy will get back to “normal” or as close as possible. We also really need MLB spring training to come back and the associated tourism revenue.
Like you mentioned Mr. Borelli does not like handouts, my father is also adverse to handouts. So in exchange for funding from Barstool we would like to offer the following –
- We would create the “Barstool Tab” at our store. Anyone who is interviewing for a job can get their suit or professional attire (3 pieces of cleaning) cleaned for free. They’d just need to say put it on the Barstool Tab.
- Dave Portnoy would have lifetime dry cleaning services from Pony Express Cleaners, including any silk animal print shorts and shirts as well as any shirt that f*cks.
- Should the Barstool Awards move to a Dunkin Donuts location in the Phoenix area, we would be the exclusive dry cleaners for attendees. This would encourage attendees to look at least presentable at the awards show.
Thank you. Patty Redden
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