Couple decides to open environmentally friendly dry cleaner
A husband-and-wife team who has been in the dry cleaning industry for 25 years recently opened a new shop in Deer Park.
Un Tae Chung and his wife, Jung Ok Chung, launched All Cleaners about three weeks ago. The new business is at 21720 W. Long Grove Road, Suite 3B, near Dick's Sporting Goods.
The couple said they wanted to operate a store that's more environmentally safe than the two previous shops they owned in Gurnee and Park Ridge.
Their son, Sterling Chung, said his parents purchased top-of-the-line Japanese equipment for the shop they built from the ground up. They also use newer hydrocarbon solvents instead of the old cleaning chemicals known to have toxins.
"Our customers told us that they want us to use solvents that were environmentally friendly," Sterling said. "They started from scratch and cherry picked all the best equipment."
He added that his father is a perfectionist and demands the best quality. He now utilizes a top-of-the-line automatic shirt press and other high-end machinery.
The business owners took a year off after selling their previous cleaner's to research the equipment and take computer classes to learn their new automated system.
Customers also wanted a quicker system when they pick up their clean clothes.
All the items are bar-coded and computerized. A conveyor pushes the clothes to the front when the customer's names are punched into the computer upon entering the store for pickups.
Sterling added that his mother has an excellent memory. Over the years, she has made it at habit of remembering every customer's name after they've been in the shop a couple times. An old customer from her Park Ridge store recently visited the Deer Park location and the business owner still remembered her name.
The business owners, originally from Korea, have been in the United States for 32 years and now live in Vernon Hills. Sterling, who has a career at a pharmaceutical company, assists with the business. His brother, Steven, resides in Chicago and works for a financial company.
The new shop is holding a grand opening special for the next several weeks when all prices will be marked down 30 percent. "The prices are competitive," Sterling said.
The cost to dry clean a dress is $8.95 while a two-piece suit is $9.50. Alterations are also offered on site. The price to hem a pair of pants is $9.
The shop is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
For more information, call (847) 550-6777.