By Rebecca Bethel | SDUN Reporter

The family that owns Park Blvd. Laundry at 4209 Park Blvd. was accustomed to a regular schedule until the prospect of owning their own business and working with family lured them into more offbeat hours. “We used to work normal nine-to-five type jobs but wanted more time to raise our three children [and] a relative had a Laundromat which offered more work flexibility and similar income,” said Lee Zucker, one of the owners.

After working in the relative’s Laundromat, Lee and her husband Eric set out to buy their own. They were primarily looking for a good location, she said, and after six months of looking, they found it. One year later the family purchased a second Laundromat, followed by a third two years after that.

The Park Boulevard location is the fourth site owned by the Zucker family, and is the second oldest Laundromat in San Diego. The building, constructed in 1925, originally housed a Laundromat that was temporarily closed, and reopened in August 2011. The family purchased the business in 2010, remodeled the location and, after six months of construction, the Laundromat is fully operational.

Employees of Park Blvd. Laundry often get compliments on cleanliness and the environment the family created, with 12-foot high ceilings, natural lighting, a breezy main room and bi-lingual attendants.

The floor, walls, roof and parking lot were refurbished and the ceiling was replaced. The building has also been retrofitted for earthquake protection and the Zuckers bought all green-friendly washing machines and dryers. There is a total of 43 new washing machines and 36 newly refurbished dryers.

Another unique addition is the large mural painted inside the building. The family said they wanted an “artsy” feel for the inside, so they decided to interview local muralists. The winning artist, Rik Erickson, used to live near the Laundromat and said he still feels a part of the University Heights community.

“More and more Laundromats are starting to do murals,” Erickson said. “Since people are sitting around and waiting a lot, it adds quite a bit of pleasant ambiance to a space.”

Erickson said it took eight days to complete the mural, not including two days it took to design the winning image. “I worked after hours on the mural since there was another work crew doing construction on the mural during the day and we would have been in each others way,” he said.

Erickson said he is immensely proud to be able to create this mural for the community.

“Whether it’s a fine restaurant or a Laundromat, it’s just nice to have something pleasant to enjoy,” Erickson said, adding, “It also shows that the owners really care a lot about their business to go that extra mile and add something that’s not a necessity. It’s just there for the beauty of it. That’s a true art lover.”