SAVAGE, Md. — Leda Peterson and Diego Osorio, a mother-in-law/son-in-law team each with ongoing ties to the ZIPS Cleaners chain, have signed a new franchise agreement to open in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Operating as KATLEX LLC, the franchisees expect to open later this year, ZIPS says.
Peterson and Osorio co-own ZIPS of York, Pa., in partnership with several other investors, including Osorio’s wife, Michelle (Peterson’s daughter), and Peterson’s ex-husband, Carlos Cadenas.
Osorio had been the manager of that location before he and Michelle became co-owners in 2013. He has also worked at Cadenas’ Falls Church, Virginia, ZIPS Cleaners store. In Lancaster, he and Peterson will share the manager's role.
“I love it. It’s the perfect partnership,” Peterson says about going into business with her son-in-law. “It’s good to have someone you know you can trust as a partner.”
Osorio echoes the sentiment about teaming up with someone he’s known for so long.
“We know we’re capable of doing this,” he says. “We’ve been working at ZIPS for more than 20 years combined; we have a lot of experience, and we know the market and the area. This has been something we’ve been thinking of doing for years, but we never really took the plunge until now.”
Peterson says she and Osorio chose to open their first partnered franchise in Lancaster in response to mounting requests to bring the brand back to the market after a previous location closed in the wake of the pandemic.
“When that Lancaster store closed, a lot of people asked if we would open another location. They’re very loyal,” Peterson says. “I believe in our system. We saw that we needed a place in Lancaster and signed a new agreement.”
Pederson and Osorio say they look forward to opening their first location as sole partners and to adding more sites to their portfolio in the future.
“I think it’s good timing,” Osorio says. “I can’t wait to start.”
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