TIOGA When customers patronize the new Oil Capital Laundromat in Tioga, they are asked to designate where they are from on a large U.S. map that hangs on the wall in the business.
"We ask people to put a push pin and 'show us' where they're from. It's fun for conversation and quite interesting to meet people from near and far," said Tammy Valliere, manager.
"I know there's people here from almost every state," she said. She said if they had maps of Canada and Mexico they'd also have push pins on them.
Oil Capital Laundromat, located just off N.D. Highway 40 and 2nd Street in Tioga, has been open for slightly more than a month, Valliere said.
"This is a brand new spacious facility with 30 washers and 22 dryers," she said. She said they have single to quadruple load capacity washers for regular and oil-field clothing.
"We have a big screen TV, free WiFi, snack and soda machines, and a great place to sit and relax," Valliere said.
The laundromat is open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
It also offers drop-off service with next day pick up, Valliere said. Drop-off hours are 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Owners of the laundromat are Bryan Moberg, of Tioga, and his parents, Roger and Judy Moberg, of Battleview. Valliere is Roger and Judy's daughter.
Bryan and Roger are consultants in the oil-field industry. Valliere was a field merchandiser with Pandora Jewelry. She previously lived in Eldridge, Iowa., part of the Quad Cities area.
"The owners were originally going to put the building up and rent the space to another business but decided to embrace the huge need for another laundromat in their growing community," Valliere said.
She said some people have told them they were driving as far as to Minot one way about 80 miles to wash their clothes.
"Countless customers have walked in and thanked us for opening the business," Valliere said.