Western suburbs cocktail bar and laundromat team up for inventive delivery service
A Seddon bar has found a novel way to iron out its lockdown woes — by teaming up with a laundromat to offer a delivery service with a difference for people in Melbourne’s inner-west.
Victoria Business
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It’s the lockdown business spin few could have seen coming, but for LayLow Bar owner Colin Wood, joining forces with a local laundromat is all working out in the wash.
After adapting his hip Seddon speak-easy from a popular drinks bar to a thriving home-delivered cocktail service when COVID hit, the entrepreneur teamed up with another western suburbs business to share delivery costs.
Seagulls Laundromat and Dry Cleaners in Altona North might seem like an unlikely business partner for an edgy bar, but Mr Wood said the partnership actually made perfect sense.
“They do a drop-off and delivery washing and ironing service which covers the whole inner-west, and now they drop off your shirts, with your Negronis … the laundromat delivers your laundry and our cocktails,” he said with a laugh.
The partnership was proving so successful, the laundromat now planned to create a permanent outpost in the front half of the Buckley St bar site, where a cafe had previously been located.
The bar would remain “hidden”, out the back, Mr Wood said.
COVID lockdown had seen demand for LayLow’s home-delivered cocktails skyrocket, especially with corporate customers who were ordering them for their workers for Friday night drinks, he said.
The drinks were often consumed during work Zoom meetings, and were being embraced by an increasing number of Melbourne businesses as staff morale-boosters and rewards, Mr Wood said.
Friday night Zoom cocktail parties between groups of friends had also taken off.
“They’re a lot of fun,” Mr Wood said. “It’s going really well.”
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