Longtime Norwalk Dry Cleaner Closes After More Than 90 Years In Business

NORWALK, CT — Sanitary Cleaners, a longtime local business whose history in Norwalk dates back over 90 years, officially closed its doors April 29, forcing its current owners, Ann and Ben Chung, to say goodbye to the customers they have loved servicing for 27 years.

Speaking on behalf of her parents, the couple's daughter, Sharon Chung, said the decision to close the Westport Avenue business came about sooner than they had hoped.

"From what I know, they had been working for several years to try and be able to sell the business so that they can retire," Chung said, "so they had plans to continue working for several more years."

According to Chung, the couple recently learned through word-of-mouth plans were in the works for a mixed-use development to be built in the area of 556 and 558 Westport Avenue, as well as a portion of Renzulli Road, which includes the land currently occupied by Sanitary Cleaners.

"There was no notice at all," Chung said. "Just no communication. My parents found out through an article, and then several customers having seen that and coming to my parents and showing it to them. My parents would have never seen it otherwise."

Plans for the 136-unit apartment complex, which also includes 6,850 square feet of commercial retail space, were first submitted to the city in the fall by Westport-based Coastal Luxury Homes, according to city planning records. In an email to Patch, owner Joe Feinleib confirmed the property currently occupied by Sanitary Cleaners is under contract to be sold to Coastal Luxury Homes from the current owner.

Steve Kleppin, the city's planning and zoning director, confirmed the land occupied by the now-closed dry cleaning business is part of the plans for the new mixed-use development.

Kleppin also noted the Westport Avenue properties included in the plans are privately owned, and the owner submitted an application for a new development that was reviewed and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in January.

"While we always encourage private property owners to communicate with their tenants regarding any changes that may impact the property," Kleppin said, "the city of Norwalk will work with Sanitary Cleaners to find alternative ways to help them continue their business in Norwalk if they wish to remain."

Chung said her parents had planned to keep working for longer before retiring but decided it was time to shut the business down after seeing plans for the new development were in the works.

"The business was doing well," Chung said. "Of course it took a dip during the [COVID-19] pandemic, but they kind of got back to normal capacity, so they had plans to keep working for several years. Their ultimate goal, ideally, was to sell it and be able to retire, but that did not happen. Knowing that eventually they are going to build developments there...no one's really going to take this on knowing that the next owners would have to figure out how to move locations."

According to Chung, Sanitary Cleaners officially opened in 1929 at a different location in Norwalk. The Westport Avenue building was built in the 1980's to be a state-of-the-art facility that provided all dry cleaning needs, complete with a custom-built drive-thru.

Anne, 63, and Ben, 70, took over the business in 1996. According to their daughter, running Sanitary Cleaners allowed them to raise a family in Connecticut.

"Being immigrants from South Korea," Chung said, "they really wanted to build something of their own and send their children to a good public school in a safe neighborhood, so this cleaners allowed them to do that."

What her parents loved most about running the business, however, was serving their customers and being a part of the Norwalk community.

"They were very dedicated to being at the cleaners all the time, 12 hours a day or more, and got to really know a lot of the regular customers," Chung said. "It was really lovely, because so many of them gave my parents flowers in the final weeks as a nice sendoff."

When asked if there was anything her parents would like to say to their beloved customers who supported them over the years, Chung relayed a message from her mother.

"I would like to tell our customers thank you for trusting us over the many years," Ann Chung said, "and building a meaningful relationship with us."