Rebecca Parks, the operator of Suds Laundromat, announced in a Facebook post on Sunday, May 1, that the laundromat was likely to close on May 26, due to its owner’s intention to not renew the business’s lease and sell the property.

The laundromat — Vashon’s only such business — is located in the center of Vashon, at 17318 Vashon Hwy SW.

In her Facebook post, Parks said she and her family members were looking for a place to move their business’s washers and dryers, but expected to encounter permitting issues in a new location and associated costs of $50,000 to $60,000 to make the move.

She also said that she and her family were still making $1,700 monthly payments on the washers and dryers in the facility.

According to property records, the property — long the site of a laundromat and dry cleaning business owned by islander Joy Humphreys — was purchased in 2015 by Multi Business LLC, a business associated with Michael Parks, Rebecca’s husband, Douglas Sudduth, her son, and Alec Sudduth, for $110,000. In 2017, It changed hands, in a quitclaim deed, to become owned by Sudds Inc, a business also associated with Parks and Sudduth family members.

In August of 2021, the building changed hands again, this time with a deed of foreclosure, transferring the property to Oregon-based Sherbourne Investments, Inc., a company directed by Mel Sherbourne. Since that time, the laundromat’s owners have been paying rent to Sherbourne.

In an interview that took place in February, Rebecca Parks told The Beachcomber that the pandemic had adversely affected her business, causing her to close Kenny’s Brain Freeze, a frozen yogurt shop also located in the building.

She also said, at that time, that the investor who had taken ownership of the property wanted to sell the building but that she hoped her son, Doug Sudduth, would find a solution to keep the business in operation.

Sherbourne, who resides in Medford, Oregon, could not be reached for comment on the situation.

Editor’s note: This article has been clarified to make clear that the operators of Suds Lauromat entered into a lease agreement with Sherbourne Investments after that company gained ownership of the building through a deed of foreclosure in August of 2021.