ZIPS Cleaners Franchisees Signs Lease for New Location in Urbana, Md.

October 10, 2025 // Franchising.com // SAVAGE, Md.– ZIPS Cleaners announced today that its franchisees Mike Kaplan and Jason Stelter have signed a 10-year lease to bring the dry cleaning brand to Urbana, Md. Expected to open in Spring 2026, the location will be part of a new phase of the retail area in Village Square at Urbana, a Natelli Communities property offering a wide range of dining, shopping, and service options. Situated in the heart of Urbana at the gateway of a highly successful residential development, the property serves local residents and receives a daytime population boost from nearby companies including Fannie Mae, Kite Pharmaceutical, and Legal & General America.

The new location will be a ZIPS “drop” location, a designation given to ZIPS Cleaners stores where customers can drop off and retrieve items closer to home. Such scaled-down locations require smaller spaces. They receive and tag items as they’re dropped off, send them off to a nearby ZIPS Cleaners plant to be cleaned, and then retrieve them for customers to return and collect. Most of these locations also typically provide on-site alterations, as will Urbana.

Urbana franchisee Mike Kaplan owns and operates a full-service ZIPS Cleaners plant in Germantown, about 15 miles away. He is partnering with that store’s general manager, Jason Stelter, in the new Urbana store.

“This new store’s debut will be momentous on multiple levels,” said Michael Waintraub, National Director of Franchise and Business Development for ZIPS Cleaners. “It will bring our brand to another area of Maryland. We look forward to celebrating with them and to bringing our brand to Urbana next year.”

“I’m excited to be expanding with ZIPS,” added Kaplan. “Partnering with Jason makes this undertaking even more fulfilling. He’s been consistently committed to our growth and success in Germantown, and I know his expertise and efforts as co-owner in Urbana will be a true asset.”

SOURCE ZIPS Cleaners®

 

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