SAVAGE, Md. — CBK Management LLC, a franchisee of Mulberrys Garment Care, has secured space for a new business location in McLean, Virginia.
Construction is scheduled to begin shortly, Mulberrys says, and the store 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 ZIPS Cleaners chain.
Under that arrangement, VDA created a subsidiary, Gemini Cleaners LLC. It serves as the sole entity offering Mulberrys Garment Care franchise opportunities throughout the United States.
In September 2024, 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 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 (DC-Maryland-Virginia area) and our experience and connections in the drycleaning and laundry space to capture more of the Northern Virginia/D.C. market and maximize our investments in real estate, equipment and labor,” says 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,” says Mike Waintraub, national director of franchise and business development for 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.”
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