Eatery finds niche with diversification

Source: Saginaw News
Lee and Betty Williams want to woo more customers.

The couple began their business in 1987. At the time, they said Magic Wash-N-Dry was born out of a need to help their impoverished northeast side neighborhood.

Customers, however, didn't exactly flock to the establishment, so the pair added an eatery in the '90s to increase traffic.

It worked, and now the operation - Magic Kitchen - is the top money-maker for the enterprise.

Lee Williams is hoping for similar success with the car wash/beauty and barber shop.

"With the cleaners, we found out that people don't have to have their clothes back right away, but with food, hey, you have to eat three times a day," he said, adding that Magic Corp. did away with dry-cleaner services several years ago.

"We think the car wash and beauty and barber shop will work along those same lines."

Rather than idly sitting under a dryer during a hair appointment, Williams said, customers can have their car washed while they wait.

To save money on the $160,000 project, Williams said he is serving as its general contractor. The retired Saginaw Malleable Iron Plant millwright expects construction to finish in the spring.

The expansion will add 2,600 square feet to the 4,400-square-foot building. Its offerings aren't the only area in which Magic Corp. is diversifying. The business continues to reach out to clientele outside the city limits.

Betty Williams, a retired Bay City school teacher, said catering jobs for Wolgast Corp., Consumers Energy, Morley Cos. Inc., General Motors Corp. and others have broadened the customer base.

"We've got people from Flint, Detroit, Central Michigan University and places up north calling us," she said.

The popularity is because the couple has some of the best ribs around, said Audra Mitchell, who was making her monthly rib run to Magic Kitchen. She is a medical receptionist for the Janes Street Academic Community Health Center in Saginaw.

"I saw the work going on and wondered what they were doing," she said. "It's nice that they are expanding, but I came here for the ribs."

Lee Williams said most customers share Mitchell's sentiment, but over time, he hopes to build a following for his new venture as well.

"It's going to be a nice place where you can come and get your hair done and car washed before you go to church," he said. "People will be surprised."
Source: Saginaw News