Fighting Back Flames, Philadelphia's Arway Linen Turned Loss Into Opportunity

When Arway Linen’s flagship laundry facility in Philadelphia burst into flames last Christmas Eve, the team was faced with a decision: adapt and overcome, or succumb to tragedy. 

The blaze, which took nearly 120 firefighters to contain, destroyed the 45-year-old facility where Arway conducted all of its operations, employing close to 200 people. In the blink of an eye, everything the firm had built since 1979 was gone.  

Mario Stagliano, managing partner at Arway Linen, knew that as one of Philadelphia’s largest commercial laundering services, this setback wasn’t going to be the end of Arway. The team was determined to come back stronger, he said.

“We have a photo of all of our families in the facility on Christmas Eve, and a few hours later, it burned down,” Stagliano said. “When I got the call from our alarm company at 9:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, I thought maybe it was a false alarm or our pipes were in danger of freezing. By the time I got down there, the whole neighborhood was closed off, and the entire building was engulfed in flames.”

This moment was a turning point for Arway, Stagliano said.

“I knew that if we were going to continue on, the biggest thing for us was going to be figuring out where to process until our new building, that’s currently under construction in the Port Richmond area, was up and running,” he said. 

The following day, Stagliano and the Arway team did exactly that. They left their homes on Christmas Day and huddled to strategize next steps. By Dec. 26, they had a solution. 

Stagliano spoke to several industry leaders in the surrounding area to see if anyone had extra capacity to help Arway run its operations. As it turned out, a laundry facility in Blackwood, New Jersey, run by JVK Operations, was able, and willing, to take on Arway's workload. While this was good news for Arway to strike an agreement and temporarily run their operations out of the facility, it unfortunately meant it could not take the bulk of its workforce with it. 

“It was a painful decision, but it was also our best bet if we wanted to survive,” Stagliano said. “It was a difficult transition, losing our team and trying to set up at a location that was not tailored to the way we operate.”

But even after securing a temporary facility, the majority of Arway's inventory was reduced to ash. It was still fighting an uphill battle, Stagliano said. 

He credits not only the perseverance of the Arway team but also the company's main textile supplier, Pinnacle Textile Industries, for supporting its recovery process. 

“They opened their doors to us on Dec. 26 and basically said take whatever you want, and we’ll work with you,” Stagliano said. “Pinnacle Textile and JVK Operations were extremely influential in our survival. If it weren't for these two companies in the short term, it would have been really difficult. Thanks to them, we didn’t miss one order.”

Amid the fire and recovery process, Arway had already started the planning and construction of a new 65K SF facility in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood. The construction, however, was substantially stunted in the aftermath of the fire. 

“We did not receive any funding toward our project until the lenders were comfortable with where we were as a business,” Stagliano said. “Once the lenders were back on board, we were able to draw more dollars and have been renovating at a rapid pace to make up for lost time.”

After a 10-month delay, construction is finally back on track, with an expected completion date of mid-2026. Stagliano credits Mike MacDonald, owner of Cherry Valley Contractors, with keeping the project going and getting back on schedule — despite the lack of funding.

In the meantime, Arway was still busting at the seams in its temporary building. While waiting for its new facility to be completed, what was the next logical step? Acquiring local companies to extend its reach and volume, Stagliano said. 

Arway acquired four commercial laundry companies in Philadelphia this year — with more acquisitions in the works. All of the acquisitions were part of the growth plan leading into the transition of its new facility, but the fire sped up that process considerably, Stagliano said.

These four acquisitions were already in the process of being executed, but the fire led to some hesitancy on whether to move forward. What Arway did not want to do, however, was bail — this was not an option, Stagliano said. The potential to lose these opportunities was too great, so Arway successfully completed all of the acquisitions.

“We knew that we needed, and wanted: more volume in our new facility. So we started talks before the fire, but we ended up settling them afterwards,” he said. “The fire didn’t stop us from achieving our goals, it actually turbocharged them. We’re more efficient and streamlined in our processes than ever before.” 

With the tragedy in the rearview mirror, the Arway team is focusing on the future, Stagliano said. Next year has a lot in store for the company, including further acquisitions throughout the Mid-Atlantic and moving into its new flagship facility, which will allow for up to five times Arway’s current capacity — or one million pounds of laundry per week.

 “Tough times either make you or break you,” Stagliano said. “Our revenue has grown throughout this catastrophe. None of this could’ve been possible without the support of every single team member, leadership and, of course, our wonderful business partners. They’ve kept us alive, ultimately, and we couldn’t be more grateful.” 

This article was produced in collaboration between Arway Linen and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.