CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- After 120 years, a family-run dry cleaner in Wilmette is permanently closing Friday.
When the doors at Schultz and Odhner’s Dry Cleaners opened at 8 a.m., only four orders remained on the conveyer belts.
Since owners Cory Schipfer and his brother-in-law Dennis Golden announced two weeks ago their decision to close and retire, customers have been coming in to pick up their last orders and say goodbye.
Schipfer said they’ve been sad, but supportive.
He said the whole industry is struggling as customers work from home in sweatpants, while weddings and fancy events are cancelled.
After the initial shutdown in the spring, Schipfer said they tried to drum up business by calling customers and asking them to bring in seasonal items to get cleaned early, but it wasn’t enough.
In retirement, he said, they plan to stay in Wilmette, where eight of their families live within five blocks of each other.