Watch now: Dry cleaners adjust as pandemic continues to alter their business plans | Area business
MONONA — It’s just before 8 a.m. and freshly dry-cleaned sport jackets, shirts and blouses shrouded in clear plastic are being hung on racks in two Nissan delivery vans.
Tara Hopmann’s route on this day will include stops in McFarland, Fitchburg, Monona and Cottage Grove. Abraham Nebel’s deliveries are farther west in communities such as Verona, Middleton and Cross Plains.
Four days a week the two drivers for Klinke Cleaners spend their mornings organizing racks of clothes as part of a pickup and delivery program launched just a few weeks prior to the start of the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020.

Tara Hopmann loads a van with dry cleaning for her day of deliveries for Klinke Cleaners. Her routes can include stops throughout Dane County and since August have included blue fabric bags, foreground, filled with clothing processed by Klinke’s wash-and-fold service.
The now two-year-old service is a way to further diversify and expand the company’s offerings to its customers, many of whom are already having groceries delivered, do their banking electronically and shop at their computer.
“We’re getting close to needing another driver,” said Kathy Klinke, who oversees deliveries. “When we started it, I didn’t know how it would go, but people like it not because they don’t want to leave their house. It makes it easy, convenient and fast for them.”
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Business at Klinke and other dry cleaners in the Madison area has rebounded from the early days of the pandemic, when sales were off by more than 80%. Most say they are now down less than 10% when compared with the days prior to the pandemic, but changes in the industry abound.

Abraham Nebel hangs freshly finished dry cleaning into his delivery van as he prepares for a day of deliveries. His route can include dozens of stops and cover 90 miles on some days.
Some dry cleaners, unable to weather the plunge in business, closed their doors for good. Others have added or are increasing their emphasis on wash-and-fold services as more casual wear becomes the norm. Meanwhile, staffing continues to be an issue for most.
‘Skeleton crew’
Lake Mills Cleaners has five trucks that pick up clothing from homes and businesses in Dane County and parts of Columbia County and another that services Jefferson and Rock counties. But the number of employees has shrunk to 18 from 28. For the past year, it has forced owner Lance Tarnutzer, whose grandfather founded the company in 1938, to take on a route.
“We work with a skeleton crew right now getting everything done,” said Ellie Tarnutzer, Lance’s wife, who also works in the business. “It’s stressful at times. Everybody is giving an extra hand.”
About 85% of Lake Mills Cleaners’ business involves picking up and dropping off clothes at individual homes, where route drivers can use garage codes or keys to the home, or place the item in an enclosed porch. The remaining business comes from those who visit the store in Lake Mills or from those who use one of 18 locations inside other businesses, such as the Ace Hardware in Cambridge, the Lodi Kwik Mart, Deegan’s Hardware in Edgerton and McFarland True Value Hardware.
Lake Mills Cleaners has not increased or decreased its service area since the pandemic, but it has eliminated plastic bags in favor of green fabric garment bags. Business is also returning and could grow further if young professionals in the Midwest follow the trends of the East Coast, where suits and ties are returning to work wardrobes.
“Whatever happens on the East Coast takes about 18 months to get here,” Ellie Tarnutzer said. “I think you’re going to see young people starting to dress up again.”
No staff, no service
At Middleton Cleaners, 6617 University Ave., Craig Daubenspeck has owned the business for 26 years and is overwhelmed with work. He has just two other employees, one of whom is his 82-year-old mother, but could use two more workers.

At Middleton Cleaners, 6617 University Ave., Craig Daubenspeck has just two other employees and is working 12- to 14-hour days.
He’s working 12- to 14-hour days and is working after hours and on Sundays when the business is closed to catch up on orders. The staffing issue at one point this month forced Daubenspeck to post signs for more than five days in his shop saying he was no longer accepting any cleaning.
“It’s not tenable for the long term,” said Daubenspeck, 58. “It’s more like how long can I put up with it. It doesn’t make for a great home life.”

Middleton Cleaners, 6617 University Ave., has struggled to keep up with demand due to employee shortages.
Among the dry cleaners that have closed recently in the Madison area are Pilgrim Cleaners at 7475 Mineral Point Road and Best Cleaners, 5712 Raymond Road. The Best Cleaners in Middleton remains open but is now owned by Maria Perez, who owns Master Cleaners in Cottage Grove and has another location on Madison’s East Side.

The Best Cleaners in Middleton is now owned by Master Cleaners in Cottage Grove. The Best Cleaners on Raymond Road closed in 2021.
Perez, who founded her business in 2008, has diversified her revenue by offering alterations, embroidery and wash-and-fold services, but dry cleaning accounts for the vast majority of her business. Like other businesses, staffing is an issue, and she admits that purchasing Best Cleaners in April 2021 was a leap of faith.
“It was risky because we didn’t know how the market was going to behave,” Perez said. “But really, sales are good over there.”
5 sites closed
At Klinke Cleaners, wash-and-fold services were added in August 2021 for its delivery customers, while the company has closed five of its 19 locations in the past few years, all of which were being considered before the pandemic, according to Steve Klinke, the company’s president.
Its Downtown location on East Washington Avenue was shuttered due to a redevelopment project, while the store at 1726 Thierer Road was closed after the building in which it leased space was sold. Stores on North Gammon Road, University Avenue and on South Park Street have also closed.

One of the five Klinke Cleaners locations to close recently is this store on North Gammon Road in Middleton. Workers have been removing equipment from the space, which is now for lease.
But this fall, Klinke plans to launch an automated program that will allow customers to drop off and pick up their dry cleaning anytime of the day, seven days a week, at two Dane County locations and another in Waukesha County. The system would include text messages sent to customers as soon as their order is finished.
“The future of dry cleaning is what we’re working on right now,” said Steve Klinke, who runs the business with his brother, Rich. “It will allow for higher degrees of customer access.”
64 years
Klinke Cleaners was founded in 1958 by Maurice Klinke, who had converted a former chicken hatchery that had been producing 50,000 chicks on Monona Drive into a shopping center, and used one of the spaces to open Klinke Econo-Wash Laundry. To keep up with customer demands, dry-cleaning machines were added, and the business was ultimately converted from self-service to full-service, according to the company’s website.

Kathy Klinke, right, helps drivers Tara Hopmann and Abraham Nebel prepare for a day of deliveries out of the Monona location of Klinke Cleaners. The company added pickup and delivery in February 2020, and wash-and-fold laundry service in August 2021.
Today the operation includes 10 locations in Dane County and four in Waukesha County. The Monona store does all of the dry cleaning for the delivery and wash-and-fold services. It also serves as the local dropoff for Monona and East Side Madison residents, and provides clothing services for guests at some of Madison’s larger hotels in the Downtown area.
Klinke calls the delivery service launched in 2020 a “game changer” for the company, and it has helped accelerate the recovery from the pandemic as “a large portion” of the company’s regular customers have moved to pickup and delivery, Klinke said.

Bags of wash-and-fold laundry fill the back of a Klinke Cleaners delivery van.
Sales began to rise in fall 2021, but when the Omicron variant struck, business tumbled once again before climbing at a steady rate in February as more people returned to the office and mask mandates began to end.
“Every day has been a new benchmark to our sales normalizing,” Klinke said. “It just keeps climbing day after day.”
Photos: Soldiers Grove, its flood-prone past and move to higher ground
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A second floor room in the public library that is dedicated to the history of Soldiers Grove, in Soldiers Grove, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Soldiers Grove

A high-water mark sign from June 9, 2008, shows the degree to which the water can rise during a flood from the Kickapoo River in Soldiers Grove.
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Community Center and Public Library in Soldiers Grove, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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A second floor room in the public library that is dedicated to the history of Soldiers Grove, in Soldiers Grove, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Sarah DiPadova, library director, shows off the solar room at the library in Soldiers Grove, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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The town center, including the post office, in Soldiers Grove that was relocated in the late 1970s to early 1980s due to repeated flooding from the Kickapoo River, in Soldiers Grove, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Soldiers Grove

“The Creeks Will Rise” by William Becker, who from 1974 to 1979 owned the Kickapoo Scout, the weekly newspaper in Soldiers Grove.
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William Becker in the town center of Soldiers Grove that was relocated in the late 1970s to early 1980s due to repeated flooding from the Kickapoo River, in Soldiers Grove, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Soldiers Grove

A Wisconsin State Journal newspaper article from Feb. 2, 1975, tells the story of a possible move in Soldiers Grove. Cecil Turk is at left and William Becker is at right.
Soldiers Grove

It’s been 30 years since William Becker has visited Soldiers Grove. He recently toured the community and spent time in the village’s library, where a room is dedicated to local history, much of it about flooding.
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The former downtown area before it relocated in the late 1970s to early 1980s to higher ground due to flooding, in Soldiers Grove, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Soldiers Grove

William Becker peers over the Kickapoo River near the former downtown area of Soldiers Grove. The water levels of the river can vary greatly and can easily flood communities along the winding river.
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Art Olson, 87, takes his granddog, Coco, for a walk through the former downtown area in Soldiers Grove, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Soldiers Grove

William Becker peers over the Kickapoo River near the former downtown area of Soldiers Grove. The community’s business district and some homes were relocated and moved to higher ground in the late 1970s to early 1980s due to repeated flooding.
Soldiers Grove

Soldiers Grove’s downtown, where William Becker ran a weekly newspaper in the 1970s, is void of homes and businesses after the community moved to higher ground nearly 40 years ago. Becker, now a policy expert on energy, climate change and disaster prevention and recovery, came up with the idea to move the town. He has also recently written a book that argues more communities around the country will need to follow the lead of Soldiers Grove.
Soldiers Grove

The post office was among the businesses moved nearly 40 years ago to higher ground in Soldiers Grove. The facility sits amid a collection of other businesses and homes that had been located in a flood-prone valley.
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1951 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
Soldiers Grove

Soldiers Grove was home to a vibrant but challenged business district, as shown in this photo from 1949. Repeated flooding made doing business here difficult for decades.
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1961 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1951 flood rescue of Louise Davenport and Juanita Anderson in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1978 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1930 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1913 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1930 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1951 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1930 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1951 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
Soldiers Grove

This historical image shows part of a 1940 flood in downtown Soldiers Grove. The buildings have all been removed and for nearly 40 years the village’s business district has been located on higher ground.
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1913 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1913 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1951 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
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1913 flood in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin. Photo provided by Soldiers Grove Public Library
Soldiers Grove

The former downtown business district for Soldiers Grove, now home to a park, has repeatedly flooded over the years due to its location in a valley along the Kickapoo River. The most recent flood, shown here, came in 2018.
“Whatever happens on the East Coast takes about 18 months to get here. I think you’re going to see young people starting to dress up again.”
Ellie Tarnutzer, of Lake Mills Cleaners
https://www.wiscnews.com/business/watch-now-dry-cleaners-adjust-as-pandemic-continues-to-alter-their-business-plans/article_e45d8878-1a1f-506e-b1b9-19f7278ffd17.html