After 20 years of countless washes and missing socks, Suds, 509 North Martin St., closed its doors Friday.
Donnellyn and Rich Henson, the Village-based laundry's most recent owners, have managed Suds since purchasing it in April 2002. They spent last weekend moving equipment out of the building and hope to finish the process by Tuesday.
Donnellyn said the prime reason behind the couple's decision to close was that business just got slow.
"New apartments come in, and that hasn't helped much," she said.
The Hensons did what they could to keep prices low at the laundry facility, knowing that 80 percent of Suds' business came from the Ball State student body.
"I thought we were reasonable," Donnellyn said, "We realized our clientele was poor college students. They're on a budget."
Other factors, such as rent and location, all played in on the Hensons' decision to close Suds' doors.
"I don't think a Laundromat can warrant the rent in the Village," Donnellyn said. "It was hard to keep up with rent increases. Rent is very steep in the Village -- It is hard to maintain."
"Parking is also a problem," Rich said.
The Hensons say running Suds day in and day out took its toll on their family. Even the couple's children had noticed the effect it had on their parents.
"You never got to see them," Landin Henson said.
Landin is a senior at Highland High School and will soon become the couple's fifth child to enroll at Ball State University. His sister Morgan, a Ball State sophomore, looks forward to the change she'll see in her parents now that Suds is closed.
"It'll be nice -- they'll be home now," she said.
Morgan worked for her parents during her freshman year when she lived on campus. She often went to Suds when she had downtime in her class schedule. Working, cleaning or relaxing, the family was always around the business.
"We spent 60 to 70 hours in here each week, sometimes 70 to 80 altogether," Donnellyn said. "It was a lot of stress."
Both Morgan and Landin were on-hand Sunday afternoon to assist their parents in closing the store. Rental trailers parked outside were filled with dryers and washers, along with signs and soap dispensers. Everything inside the store, except the video games, is being liquidated, Donnellyn said.
Apart from a more distant family life, she said the business also took its toll on the family financially.
"We've got a hole we've dug, but we'll get out of it," Donnellyn said, "We'll be feeling it for a while ... a long while."
Donnellyn said she and her husband have no immediate plans but to "go recoup and make the best of it." Rich still works as a manager at a used-car lot in Anderson. Together, though, the couple is looking forward to returning to a less stressful and more family-oriented life.
"We were a pretty tight-knit family," Donnellyn said, "It separated us all."
Even as she moved items out of the back room, though, Donnellyn remained humorously positive about her time at Suds.
"If I had a quarter for every sock I've found," she said, "I'd retire."
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