Just a few months ago Alexandru Caldararu was working as an Uber driver in Belfast – today he works for a global laundry service franchise that opened its first UK store in Belfast earlier this year.
Romanian national Alexandru first moved to Northern Ireland seven years ago when his future wife Georgiana secured a nursing job here.
The Bucharest native, 37, had first visited Northern Ireland back in 2011 when he travelled over to visit a friend who was living in Newry.
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"I had read about the history of the place before I came here as I always like to know the background about places I visit," Alexandru told Belfast Live.
"I worked in sport while I was still living in Bucharest as I have a degree in physical education and then I spent eight years working in sales for different companies.
"Georgiana and I moved to Northern Ireland in 2015 after she got a new contract to be a nurse in Belfast and we settled in Bangor. Life in Northern Ireland has been good to us since then and in general, people have been friendly and welcoming but of course nowhere is perfect."
Alexandru added: "There weren't many other Romanian people living here back then compared to now. Since then, the Belfast Intercultural Romanian Community has been created, which organises regular events where we can meet up with others from our home country and that's very nice.
"Of course we miss our family and friends back in Romania and we try to see them as often as we can. Our parents have also come to visit us here in Northern Ireland a few times and they love all the open, green spaces and local landmarks."
In April of this year, international laundry service franchise, Mr Jeff, opened its first UK location on the Stranmillis Road in South Belfast with Alexandru at the helm.
Mr Jeff — which says it has “modernised the tedious task of laundry” in more than 30 countries — provides customers with a new 24-hour express same-day wash and fold service and seamless home pickup and delivery mobile app-based services.
It was founded in 2015 by three entrepreneurs in Spain, who wanted to make life easier for their community, just like the brand’s namesake Geoffrey – the beloved, witty butler featured on the hit 90’s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The trio built Mr Jeff to bring the convenience of Amazon or Uber Eats to day-to-day services like laundry. Through its proprietary mobile app, consumers can schedule on-demand laundry services to be picked up and dropped off at their door in a 48-hour window.
While customers have an option to drop off and/or pick up their clothes at the physical Mr Jeff location, it's easy to understand why today's consumers choose the convenience of the pickup and delivery services.
Mr Jeff services include wash and fold, wet and dry cleaning, ironing, pressing, and also offers monthly membership options at reduced rates.
"The new business opened in April when I decided to take over the franchise," Alexandru explained. "It's not your classic dry-cleaning company as it doesn't use harsh chemicals and it's run via an app. That means people can order from home to arrange pick-up and delivery.
"I first came across the company in Bucharest and thought it was something that would do well in Belfast too.
"The business started off a bit slow after Covid but it has certainly grown since the summer with the help of social media campaigns so we are getting busier."
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