Thunder Bay's only personal dry cleaner remains closed as owner waits for someone to step in and run it

Picture this: you're eating, drinking and being merry in your Sunday best, but then it hits you: a smattering of sauce, a splash of wine, or worst of all, chocolate. What do you do?

If you're living in Thunder Bay, Ont., your options may be limited. The northwestern Ontario city's only personal dry cleaning service, offered at Supreme Cleaners, shuttered last August and remains closed, leaving people to either get creative or head out of town to get their fine clothes cleaned.

Supreme Cleaners, which has been in operation for more than 80 years, cited staffing shortages and hiring challenges as to why it was "unable to meet current production demands," according to its website. 

Don Buset, the shop's co-owner, said there were at least 10 dry cleaners in town when he was growing up, and six when he got involved in the business about 20 years ago.

Supreme Cleaners continues to offer commercial dry cleaning services for hotels, motels and mines, but people have kept calling him about when personal dry cleaning will come back.

The decline of dry cleaning services has been influenced by many factors — escalating prices, changes in culture and fashion fads. He described dry cleaning as neither a necessity nor luxury, but as something that's put to the bottom of people's lists when they're juggling other expenses. 

However, personal dry cleaning is "still a viable business," Buset said.

Essentially, Buset said he's looking for someone to take over the personal dry cleaning side of the business. That could mean he'd sell it to them, partner with them, or lease a property to better protect the cash flow, he said. 

Last November, customers may have gotten their hopes up when Buset said negotiations with an interested party were underway — but that group has since backed off. There have been a few new leads since then, though there's a lot to take on, and it's difficult to find people who want to work in the industry.

Whoever steps in must have the capital, the administrative support, and the practical skills, which require taking a course. Under Ontario's Environmental Protection Act, "no person shall operate dry cleaning equipment at a commercial establishment unless a trained person works full-time at the establishment."

For example, Seneca College in Toronto offers a dry cleaners environmental certification course that covers everything from pressing techniques to preventing environmental harms when using solvents.

"There's still a lot of opportunity, as I said, for anybody who wants to invest in it because it's a turnkey operation if they want to buy it, if they have the the right staff to staff it, and we will do anything to help them succeed in it," said Buset.

Clothing customers express frustration

Jim Hupka, who's owned and operated Mister J Mens Fashion in Thunder Bay for more than 50 years, has seen many styles over the years, from double pleated pants to washable synthetics. He's also seen the city's business landscape change. 

His clients have expressed frustration at the lack of options available to them to clean their suits since last summer, but he's offered them a few suggestions.

One option, if they're travelling to a larger city, is to bring their garments with them. Oftentimes, a hotel concierge may refer them to a dry cleaning service there. 

Another thing to consider is whether they actually need their clothes dry cleaned or just freshened up. If the latter is true, he recommends they put them on a good hanger and steam them in the washroom for an hour. In many cases, a dress shirt can just be washed in cold water, hung to dry and then ironed, he said.

While it takes more time — and perhaps a bit of bravery — to dry clean items at home, for now, that's about all residents can do. A lot of work goes into professional dry cleaning, which many people may be unaware of, said Hupka.

"It's not just the one-step process, and so there is learning to it as well," he said.

Hupka wondered whether the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission could create an incentive for someone to bring dry cleaning services back to the city.

At The Loop, a women's clothing boutique in Thunder Bay, owner Beth DeProphetis said customers have definitely been upset about the lack of dry cleaning services. Then again, when people read a label that says dry cleaning only, that often deters them from buying the item, anyway.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people shifted to lounge wear, but now that they're returning to the office and to social gatherings, DeProphetis is seeing customers looking to dress formally and ditch their sweat pants.  

She has seen a trend toward items that are easier to care for, as well as people using the delicate cycle on their washing machines — but there's always the risk of something going awry during the spin cycle.

"Obviously, there is a need for [dry cleaning] because everyone complained when it wasn't available," said DeProphetis. "If and when one opens up, they will probably be very, very busy with a lot of jackets and dry clean-only suits."

In the next few months, she said there may be further frustrations as people try to wash their winter coats at the end of the season.