Mulberrys Garment Care recently announced that its franchisee CBK Management LLC has secured space for a new location in McLean, VA. The 1,400-square-foot space is situated in McLean Square, an upscale shopping center featuring a Balducci’s gourmet supermarket, Bach to Rock Music School, Citibank, Yves Delorme bedding store and other distinctive retailers and service providers. Construction is scheduled to begin shortly on the location, which is expected to open this fall.
Part of a previously announced three-unit development agreement, the new store will join Mulberrys Garment Care in the Friendship Heights section of Washington, D.C., in representing the first units of the Minneapolis-born chain to open under a master franchise arrangement struck between Mulberrys founder, Dan Miller, and Value Drycleaners of America (VDA), parent company of the 70+-unit ZIPS Cleaners chain. Under that arrangement, VDA created a subsidiary, Gemini Cleaners LLC, through which it serves as the sole entity offering Mulberrys Garment Care franchise opportunities throughout the U.S.
Last September, Gemini Cleaners announced the three-unit development agreement with CBK Management, operated by franchisee partners Carlos Cadenas, Brett Vago and Kyo Kim. Vago and Kim opened the Friendship Heights location in December 2023 and then teamed with Cadenas, with whom they already co-own other ZIPS Cleaners locations, to form CBK Management. All three partners also operate other ZIPS Cleaners locations independently or in partnership with other franchisees.
“Mulberrys has given us a great opportunity to leverage our ties to VDA, our knowledge of the DMV and our experience and connections in the dry cleaning and laundry space to capture more of the Northern Virginia/D.C. market and maximize our investments in real estate, equipment and labor,” said Vago. “We’re excited to build on what we started in Friendship Heights and to have Carlos add his expertise to the mix as we focus on further expansion.”
“We’re thrilled to have Brett and Kyo, the operators of our first Mulberrys location, see the value of our dual-brand strategy and invest in expanding further in the D.C./Northern Virginia region,” said Mike Waintraub, National Director of Franchise and Business Development for both the ZIPS Cleaners and Mulberrys Garment Care brands. “With Carlos joining them in this new venture, we have three seasoned operators pooling their expertise and resources to deliver the upscale Mulberrys brand promise. We look forward to welcoming discerning consumers from throughout McLean and the surrounding area later this year.”
For more information, visit www.mulberryscleaners.com.