When the late Orestes Morales immigrated to Miami from Cuba in 1971, he just wanted to open his own business.
He opened Mary鈥檚 Coin Laundry and Caf茅 鈥� and 35 years later his grandchildren are working at the same store he built, which has become an important neighborhood fixture. His portrait hangs above a doorway in the laundromat.
Although many 24/7 businesses limited their hours or even shut down after the pandemic, Mary鈥檚 resumed their all-day service once restrictions were lifted.
鈥淚 don't care about money,鈥� said Ralph Morales, Orestes鈥檚 son and the owner of the laundromat. 鈥淲hat makes me, is what you leave behind. That鈥檚 what I care about.鈥�
The laundromat and caf茅 sits in Miami鈥檚 Silver Bluff neighborhood, just north of Coconut Grove. Customers can clean their clothes inside the business and order food and coffee at a ventanita, which has a few tables outside.
Ralph oversees the laundromat part, and his sister Mary, the store鈥檚 namesake, owns the caf茅. He loves his job, but he says not easy.
鈥淭he hardest part of this is being able to 鈥� be here whatever time when there鈥檚 a problem,鈥� Ralph said. 鈥淲hen one of those machines breaks down at three o鈥檆lock in the morning, I have to get up and come and do it. No matter what.鈥�
It was Ralph鈥檚 idea to make the business 24/7 in 1991. He said running the store meant sacrificing time with his three daughters.
鈥淲hen they wanted to go to the beach and I had something to do, [their] mom used to go with them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 changed diapers and what not, but there was a timeframe where I had to just dedicate time to my business in order to sustain and maintain the family. So I was out of the picture for certain things, and I do regret that.鈥�
The next generation
Although Ralph has thought about selling the shop, he feels a duty to protect the store鈥檚 legacy and the community it's built. Vicky Sanchez, Ralph鈥檚 niece and Mary鈥檚 daughter, agrees. She grew up getting breakfast at the ventanita before school and helping around the store, but recently she started managing the store on her own.
鈥淭hey used to have these plastic chairs that my grandfather would bring out at night and it would be a group of 12 to 15 older men. They鈥檇 sit there and have their coffee after dinner, and their wives would come and they鈥檇 walk around the block for exercise with my grandma,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 hope that continues with another generation. It鈥檚 really special.鈥�
Some of the regulars have known the family for decades, like Carmen Lopez, who鈥檚 been washing her clothes at Mary鈥檚 for 32 years.
鈥淲hat I like the most about here is the store鈥檚 service and the family that runs it. I admire them a lot,鈥� she said, in Spanish. 鈥淢y son is in the army and he always asks me how [Ralph] is doing.鈥�
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Vicky also works part-time as a nurse, but she started picking up less shifts at the hospital and more shifts at Mary鈥檚 to help out her aging parents.
鈥淚f my parents have doctor鈥檚 appointments, we wouldn鈥檛 really have anyone else to cover if not us,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 told them, 鈥楲ook, I don鈥檛 need you to retire full-time, but I need you to go at least from seven days to maybe five. Give me two.鈥欌��
Her uncle is really proud of her.
鈥淢y god, it鈥檚 such a great feeling to be able to see somebody with such a grateful heart to not let what the family has built demolished,鈥� Ralph said.
Adapting to the times
Vicky said the store is constantly testing new items to keep up with what customers want. When her mother introduced the pan con bistec in the early 2000s, it quickly became one of their most popular items. She remembers when the store first started selling Red Bull, and recently, they sold Celsius Energy Drinks for the first time.
鈥淢y dad鈥檚 like, 鈥楶eople don鈥檛 drink that, do they?鈥� And I鈥檓 like, 鈥楶api, they drink them. If they don鈥檛 want a cafecito, they can get a Celsius,鈥欌�� Vicky said. 鈥淲e just notice what鈥檚 going on and what the community wants. And I think that鈥檚 how it鈥檚 gonna continue being.鈥�
Ralph has seen the store since day one, and he feels a duty to be there for the neighborhood, just like how the customers have been there for him.
鈥淚鈥檝e got to give back what they鈥檝e given me. That鈥檚 my main focus,鈥� he said.
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