A new, environmentally friendly Lapels Dry Cleaning Store opens in Seattle, WA

DATELINE: HANOVER, MA AND SEATTLE, WA… Lapels Dry Cleaning, an innovative, environmentally friendly dry cleaning company headquartered in Hanover, Massachusetts, is pleased to announce the latest addition to its growing nationwide family of retail stores. On May 9, the first Lapels Dry Cleaning store in Seattle opened for business at 8345 15th Avenue N.W. This new Lapels Dry Cleaning store will be open 7 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday; 8 am to 5 pm on Saturday; and 12 pm to 3 pm on Sunday.

The Grand Opening Celebration, scheduled for May 30, will include a giveaway drawing featuring a free dinner for four at a neighborhood restaurant, as well as a second prize drawing for an iPod nano. Area residents will also receive postcards good for 50% off the cost of their first dry cleaning order.

Local entrepreneurs Carl and Nora Robinson, the previous owners of Caffe Zingaro, will own and operate Seattle’s first Lapels Dry Cleaning store. “There are very few environmentally friendly dry cleaning operations in Seattle and Lapels Dry Cleaning fills an important need by providing an environmentally progressive alternative,” notes Carl Robinson. “We’re excited to be able to offer area residents the option of the most technically advanced, environmentally friendly dry cleaning service available at our new our Lapels Dry Cleaning Store, introducing on premise cleaning utilizing FIRBIMATIC’S Eco Green Saver machine.”

The Lapels Seattle store will offer environmentally safe ONE – HOUR dry cleaning on the premise on most garments, as well as VIP service utilizing a personalized laundry bag with the option of 24-hour drop off. Same day service will also be available with pick-up after 5 pm.

“We want to congratulate Carl and Nora on the Grand Opening of their new Lapels Dry Cleaning store, and we look forward to an ongoing relationship as we continue to provide guidance and support at the corporate level to help ensure the success of their new dry cleaning store,” remarked Lapels Dry Cleaning CEO Lawrence Friedman. “We’re also proud that their Seattle Lapels Dry Cleaning store will offer the most ecologically sophisticated dry cleaning process available, continuing to advance Lapels Dry Cleaning’s corporate goal of providing environmentally friendly service.”

FIRBIMATIC Saver – better for you, our employees, the earth AND better for your clothes
Utilizing odorless, ecological solvents the FIRBIMATIC Saver series is delicate on garments, minimizing the risk of shrinking, fading, and discoloring. It is designed to help cleaners lower their utility usage, and it also eliminates the production of hazardous waste since it doe not employ a still, unlike conventional dry cleaning systems.

The FIRBIMATIC Saver uses a high-tech filtration combination of nylon spinning disc filters and a special decanter with filtering powder to purify the solvent by accurately removing moisture, odors and fatty acids. Relevant savings in labor, electricity and maintenance costs can be obtained because the saver filtration combination doesn’t use conventional distillation and therefore doesn’t require an external steam supply for drying or supplementary heating coils.  It can also be equipped with an innovative air-cooled refrigeration system that requires no water connection at all, which means that during installation of the machine, only electric and air connections are required.

Lapels Dry Cleaning Community Commitment
Being a good neighbor isn’t just a slogan at Lapels Dry Cleaning, where community involvement is a tradition. Lapels Dry Cleaning proudly partners with the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation of Boston, Big Sisters of Rhode Island, and the American Red Cross.

A Rising Star
Lapels Dry Cleaning is ranked as one of the Top 10 fastest growing franchises in New England by the New England Franchise Association. In addition, the Lapels Dry Cleaning Franchise Program has made the ranking for the Top 30 Franchise Organizations based in New England.

Lapels Dry Cleaning has also been ranked in Entrepreneur’s 26th Annual “Franchise 500” as well as Entrepreneur’s “Top 50 New Franchises,” identifying Lapels Dry Cleaning as one of today’s top franchise opportunities. Entrepreneur's “Franchise 500” is the best and most comprehensive rating of franchises in the world and is based on objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise operation.

Store Locations
Lapels Dry Cleaning has stores in Massachusetts (Abington, Bedford, Beverly, Boston-Charles River Park, Brighton, Concord, Dedham, Easton, Framingham, Halifax, Hanover, Marshfield, Newtonville, Norton, Randolph, Salem, Sudbury, Walpole, Westford, and Westwood); Rhode Island (Lincoln); Arizona (Peoria); California (Pomona and Poway); Florida (Orlando); New Hampshire (Hooksett); South Carolina (Carolina Forest and Myrtle Beach); Texas (Arlington, Garland, Granbury, Murphy, and Plano); Washington (Kirkland); and Washington, DC. Coming soon to Duluth, GA; Destin, FL; Boise, ID; Wilmington, MA; Edmond, OK and Bloomsburg, PA.

Lapels Dry Cleaning – Environmentally Friendly Cleaners
A full slate of services are offered at each Lapels Dry Cleaning store, including: same-day dry cleaning; shirt service; tailoring; shoe repair; wedding gown preservation; suede and leather processing; box storage and fur storage.

Lapels Dry Cleaning corporate offices are located at 962 Washington Street, Hanover, MA 02339.  To learn more about franchise opportunities with Lapels Dry Cleaning, call toll free (866) 695-2735 or email admin@lapelsdrycleaning.com. Additional information and up-to-date company news can also be found on the company’s Web site, www.lapelsdrycleaning.com.