Hutchinson's to clean its last suit in July
Because adults don't gussy up like they once did and for various other reasons, a 95-year-old Butler business will close in July.
Steve Hutchinson said Hutchinson's Dry Cleaners on Negley Avenue will starch its last shirt July 2.
“We've been blessed that we've been here this long,” Hutchinson said of the business started by his grandfather, Gordon Hutchinson. “It's never been about making the money. It's always been about doing a good job.”
He explained that when his grandfather opened the business in 1926, dry cleaners were a vital part of each town's landscape because all clothing was made of wool, cotton and silk, which were taken to the dry cleaner.
In the 1950s, when his father, Jim, ran the business, men wore suits and women wore furs and gowns.
Then, machine-washable polyester hit the scene in the 1970s, and almost all households had electric washing machines.
Those factors caused a nationwide decline in the need for dry cleaning, and then the coronavirus pandemic hit.
“No one was going to the office or funerals or weddings,” Hutchinson said. “Everyone was in their pajamas at home.”
All of these industry-crippling factors coincided with Hutchinson's station in life, which is retirement age.
“It's the economics of it all,” Hutchinson said. “That's the reason why I'm closing.”
He said Hutchinson's was able to survive for almost a century because they did much more than clean suits.
“We do more than just your average dry cleaner,” he said. “We do a lot of hands-on things.”
He said beaded items, bedspreads, gowns, drapes, lampshades, carpet, furniture, costumes and other items can be cleaned by Hutchinson's.“There's really nothing that someone would want clean that we couldn't process, whereas some dry cleaners would turn it down,” Hutchinson said.He said his shop also has a ventilated room where a special solvent can be used that could not be used at a mall because it is flammable.The solvent is the original formula used by Gordon Hutchinson when the shop opened.Hutchinson said he has individual employees whose sole job is to press pants, sport coats or other garments. Another employee's lone task is to search fabric for stains.He had 23 employees before COVID-19 hit, and he is now down to 12.“We've been really blessed with a lot of crew who have cared over the years what the garments look like,” Hutchinson said.He said it's not fair to ask his employees, many of whom are of the longtime, dedicated variety, to work part time at this point so he can remain open.“We've done this on such a large volume, and now that volume has fallen off,” he said.Hutchinson said he approached his father and mother, Peggy, both in their 90s, about closing the shop.“Dad looked at me and said, 'What can I do to help?'” Hutchinson said. “He knows my wife and I have made sacrifices.”Hutchinson admits he worries about the nonprofit organizations who use his dry cleaning services for a fraction of the price he normally charges.He said his dry cleaner processes about 50 pieces of kitchen linen each week for Butler Meals on Wheels.“They pay the same price they've paid since the day they started, and I don't know what they are going to do,” Hutchinson said.He also cleans marching band uniforms for Butler, Knoch, Moniteau, Karns City and other high schools at a low price.“I've reached out to all of them,” Hutchinson said.Linda Reichart, registered nurse and diabetic educator at the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center, said her grandmother and mother also used Hutchinson's Dry Cleaners.Reichart has taken her bedspreads, blankets and winter coats to the Negley Avenue business for years.“They always came back beautiful,” she said. “They could get out stains I never could.”Reichart also appreciates their fast service.“They are the best. It's sad they're closing,” she said. “I will miss them.”Kimberly Reamer, the health center's executive director, said for more than 15 years she has taken her suits as well as her husband's to Hutchinson's because she knew they would be returned looking like new.“I enjoy their professionalism and kindness,” she said. “I'm going to miss them because I really enjoyed doing business with them.”Hutchinson said leaving the three-generation business will be bittersweet.“I'm looking at it as a celebration,” he said. “I've been blessed with being in business all these years and I was able to save and get myself to this point where retirement is what I'm doing, but I'm sad about my relationships with our customers.”
