JAY, Okla. — Cherokee Nation Businesses recently hosted an open house for its new 5,600-square foot industrial laundry that has eliminated the outsourcing of laundry services for its hotels and created 11 new jobs here in far northeast Oklahoma.
“We are pleased that the creation of this facility helps us to continue our goals of economic development and creating more jobs inside the Cherokee Nation,” says Bill John Baker, Cherokee Nation principal chief.
The Jay facility processes all laundry from the 140-room Cherokee Casino & Hotel West Siloam Springs (up to 2,500 pounds on a given day). Laundry services from the 350-room Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa will be added in the near future. An addition targeted for completion later this year will add 100 more suites there.
The new central facility creates a cost-effective method for laundry services to serve the two largest CNB-owned hotels. By having the laundry processed in Jay, Cherokee Casino & Hotel West Siloam Springs has already seen quicker turnaround in delivery and pickup of linens.
“The transition has already been a positive one,” says Rachel Smith, housekeeping supervisor of Cherokee Casino & Hotel West Siloam Springs. “The quality of their work already exceeds what we’ve had in the past. Having a location in Jay has already cut back on time spent with our laundry needs.”
The laundry is CNB’s first expansion into this type of business. The intent is to create an industrial facility capable of eventually handling services for all Cherokee Nation and CNB-owned businesses. The Jay facility employs eight full-time laundry attendants, a full-time maintenance engineer and two on-site managers.
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