While laundry operators serving restaurants and hotels have welcomed the recent reopening of customer businesses amid relaxed COVID restrictions, no one that we know of is singing “Happy Days are Here Again!” In fact, five operators that we recently interviewed were all bullish on long-term growth prospects, but most were—at best—cautious about their companies’ near-term prospects.

Phoebe Ellis, owner of Lace House Linen, Petaluma, CA, says her company is wary of pushing for new business now because labor and material shortages have limited her company’s ability to do the job right. Like other laundry operators, these challenges—coupled with rising costs—have ...