The racks inside 1332 Vine St. are starting to fill up after
On The Run Cleaners opened just more than a week ago.
OTR Residents Paul and Lihn Nguyen opened the business after talking to fellow residents, many of whom mentioned the need for a neighborhood dry-cleaning service. Nguyen and his wife purposely opened On The Run during the holiday season. They figured business would start off slow since many residents are out of town, and it would give them time to iron out all the kinks of the day-to-day operations.
Even though Nguyen, as one of a few service-oriented businesses in OTR, knows of Capital Shoe Repair’s impending closing, he believes his businesses has plenty of potential clients.
“There are more young professionals living down here,” Paul Nguyen says. “A lot more people who work downtown want to live down here. There isn’t another dry cleaner in the area.”
He says dry-cleaning business was at the top of almost all the residents’ lists. Nguyen thinks the location alone will allow him to compete with home-delivery dry-cleaning services. Using friends at Pho Lang Tang and other local businesses to help promote On the Run, as well as leaving cards all around the city, Nguyen is counting on referrals and walk-ins to grow the business. So far, he believes most business is from people who have seen the shop taking shape in the past two months.
If you drop off your clothes at OTR, garments are shipped out to be cleaned. Typically, you can pick up in two days. Rates for pants are shirts are $4 for one, or 3 for $11. Suits and dresses cost $8.50.
By Evan Wallis
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