Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Dion Cleaners is closing after 35 years in business on 14th and A

After 35 years in business, Dion Cleaners is shutting down on the southwest corner of 14th Street and Avenue A. 

While Saturday is their last official day, EVG regular Christine Champagne shared these photos of workers cleaning out the space... (apparently you have until Saturday to pick up any outstanding items)...
Dry cleaners have been hard hit during the pandemic...  as more people are working from home, and fewer people are going to events where they need to dress up ... We've already seen several closures in this neighborhood, including Amy's aka C & C on Seventh Street, LT Baron's on 11th Street and Sun's Laundry on 14th Street.  

Pandemic aside, it has been a tough slog for Dion. For nearly three years this side of 14th Street was an active construction zone for L-train repairs with a variety of trucks, drill rigs, pile drivers, compressors and generators. 

Several businesses were forced to shut down due to severely limited access to their storefronts. Outside Dion, customer access included only 28 inches of sidewalk space — not big enough for a wheelchair in spots.

Here's a photo from September 2018...

8 comments:

  1. I wouldn't be surprised if this small, one-story building on a major corner a few steps away from Target and Trader Joe's will be sold, torn down, and a new "luxury" edifice constructed in its stead. Just guessing, and I really hope I'm wrong.

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    1. That's exactly what is going to happen. Target, Trader Joes, and subway improvements are for new luxury apartments or condos. They will have a new fancy dry cleaner on the street level.

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  2. I wish the nice couple who ran Dion all the best. I went there for years, and they worked incredibly hard at their business. Such a shame. Even though we moved farther away about a year ago, I've been meaning to take a few things there recently. But I guess it's too late now.

    What a lousy year this has been.

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  3. Unbelievable how quickly the "I wouldn't be surprised" comments jump in before the "Thanks for 35 years of honest service to the E.V." ones do. Look out for the evil developers, they lurk in the shadows.

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  4. @Anonymous 12:49 PM - Not sure what city YOU are living in, but here in New York our developers don't lurk, vampire-like, in the shadows, they are in our faces, on our streets and in the news on a daily basis, busily tearing down perfectly fine buildings (5 lovely Beaux-Arts tenements on 11th St. between 3rd and 4th, lost to make room for the Moxy Hotel, I'm looking at you, among others), harassing tenants (Jared Kushner, Steve Croman, Rafael Toledano, Ben Shaoul, Icon Realty, I'm looking at you, among others), constructing buildings not meant for the likes of rank-and-file New Works (far too many too mention).

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  5. I've used them a couple of times to dry clean my jackets.

    The new L train extension on the corner along with Trader Joe's have added a lot more foot traffic in the area often causing a mass congestion of human bodies that might preclude locals from treading there. But I wouldn't think this would stop anyone from using their service.

    By the way, Dion is also right to next to Muzzarella Pizza on Ave. A which has been closed since sometime in July.

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  6. Boy, it's going to be strange not seeing this store on this corner. I hope the owners enjoy retirement.

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  7. The nicest people, I have been a customer of theirs since they opened and their parents ran the business. They retired back to Korea. Another nice friendly neighborhood business gone. Will be replaced with a business that does not know or care about the neighborhood or it's people. Best wishes to the family and workers of Dion Cleaners. I will miss them they truly cared about their service and their customers.

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