Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry opens modern laundry off North 21st Street

Maria DeVito, Newark Advocate
·3 min read
Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry manager J.D. Williamson cuts the ribbon during a ceremony Friday afternoon at the new laundry facility, 1303 Log Pond Drive, Newark, just south of the North 21st Street Walmart. Big Kahuna seeks to modernize the laundry experience for customers by offering free Wi-Fi, accepting credit cards and more.
Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry manager J.D. Williamson cuts the ribbon during a ceremony Friday afternoon at the new laundry facility, 1303 Log Pond Drive, Newark, just south of the North 21st Street Walmart. Big Kahuna seeks to modernize the laundry experience for customers by offering free Wi-Fi, accepting credit cards and more.

When it comes to laundry, there's a new "big kahuna" in Newark.

Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry opened Aug. 21 at 1303 Log Pond Drive in Newark, just south of the North 21st Street Walmart. It's open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Bruce Westfall, one of the owners, said after a ribbon cutting Friday that he and his three other business partners felt Newark need more modern laundry options. With Westfall's experience of owning laundries — including Pataskala's Jett Wash Laundry — for more than 23 years, he felt he could be the guy to do it.

"(Newark) really needs one and it deserves one. The people here deserve a nice place to come clean their clothes, and that didn't exist before us," he said.

In addition to Westfall, who also owns Jett Wash Laundry in Pataskala, Big Kahuna is owned by Eric Skipper, John Rentz and John Roush, CEO of Express Wash Concepts that operates Moo Moo Express Car Wash and other car wash companies.

Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry has 42 washers and 52 dryers that each come in a range of sizes. The facility, which opened Aug. 21, seeks to modernize the laundry experience for Newark customers.
Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry has 42 washers and 52 dryers that each come in a range of sizes. The facility, which opened Aug. 21, seeks to modernize the laundry experience for Newark customers.

Westfall said it was important that Big Kahuna break away from the stereotypical look and feel of other laundries. The inside is colorful and has large windows surrounding three sides. Tables and counters are placed throughout the facility, at which people can fold their clothes. Big Kahuna also offers free Wi-Fi and has a long high top table that includes outlets and USB ports to plug in devices.

Big Kahuna has 42 washers and 52 dryers that each come in a range of sizes, Westfall said. Cycles cost between $3.25 and $11.25, depending on the size of the machines and settings selected. All the machines take coins as well as credit cards. The facility also offers a Big Kahuna Bonus Card, a prepaid card people can load with cash.

Westfall said Big Kahuna is also in the process of developing an app, on which people can check machine availability, pay for their machine, track how much time is left on their laundry and get a notifications when their machine is complete.

The modern touches were a priority when planning Big Kahuna, Westfall said.

"It's the world we live in now, and the laundry industry isn't any different," he said. "It's just a little slow to adapt and we want to be the people that brings this to Newark because we feel like Newark deserves it."

Since opening about three weeks ago, Westfall said the reception has exceed their expectations. Every day Big Kahuna gets 20-40 new customers and has served more than 700 people already.

Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry has 42 washers and 52 dryers that each come in a range of sizes. The facility, which opened Aug. 21, seeks to modernize the laundry experience for Newark customers.
Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry has 42 washers and 52 dryers that each come in a range of sizes. The facility, which opened Aug. 21, seeks to modernize the laundry experience for Newark customers.

While planning the large laundry, Westfall said the partners as well as manager J.D. Williamson were trying to determine a name that would match the feel they were after when Williamson described the concept as the "big kahuna" and the name stuck.

Westfall said he was also adamant "ozone" be a part of the name as it refers to the ozone technology the facility uses to clean clothes.

Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry opened Aug. 21 at 1303 Log Pond Drive in Newark just south of the North 21st Street Walmart. It's open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight.
Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry opened Aug. 21 at 1303 Log Pond Drive in Newark just south of the North 21st Street Walmart. It's open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Big Kahuna's cold water is infused with ozone, a sanitizer, that Westfall said is 3,200 times more powerful than bleach. He said hospitals have used it for years to clean scrubs and that it's easier on clothes than detergent.

"It's every bit as natural as the same ozone that's created when a lightning bolt hits and you smell that smell after a thunderstorm. It's the exact same thing," he said.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry opens modern laundry off North 21st Street