Business: Napervalue Cleaners
Address: 811 N. Washington St., Naperville
Phone: 630-717-7725
Owner: Sam Nawar, of Schaumburg
Years in business: 18
What does your business do? “We do a lot of stuff. Dry cleaning for sweaters, pants, suits, coats, jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, blouses, scarves, everything you wear that needs to be dry cleaned,” Nawar said.
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“We do alterations. We clean drapery, any bed accessories like sheets, pillowcases, stuff like that. We also clean rugs. We wash and fold too. … We do preservation for wedding dresses.”
What does that entail? “Wedding dresses are very fancy. A lot of people are looking to preserve it for a long time, to keep for memories. … There’s some special boxing we use.”
What’s the background? “This was an existing business when I bought it. It started in 1996.”
What did you do before this? “I was in accounting and I fixed computers. I was a network specialist.”
Why did you get into this business? “I like to try different stuff every once in a while. I thought I could be successful in this business. … I’m still surviving even with stuff like the coronavirus and bad economy.”
How has the pandemic impacted your business? “Most of the people are working from home. That affects our business too much. We’re down almost 60 percent.”
That’s a huge hit. How do you survive? “We’re doing our best, trying to be honest with the customers, doing a good job. … We offer the lowest prices in town, which is a big plus. We do a good job. Even if some issues happen, we fix it with the customer. We work with them. We’ll clean it again if a spot didn’t come out.”
What are some tricks of the trade? “(There is a) special chemical for everything. Some for food spots, some for blood spots, some for grease spots.”
Is blood the toughest to remove? “It’s very tough to bring it out.”
What about red wine on a white shirt? “Most of the time, it comes clean. … There may be one you have and didn’t see for a long time. The spot has been there for one year. It’s very hard to bring it out. … I can try harder, but you don’t want to damage the fabric.”
What fabrics are the most challenging to clean? “Wool. Silk. Silk is very sensitive. Very delicate.”
What should people know? “We offer pickup and delivery. It’s a little bit more expensive than when a customer brings it here.”
Is there a lot of competition from other dry cleaners in town? “Not anymore. A lot of them closed down. Sometimes, you feel bad for those people because they lost a lot of money closing down. Believe me, it doesn’t make me happy.”
What’s the key to success? “You have to be reasonable (with pricing) so you bring the customer back. We have a drive-thru here so a customer drives up, we go out, pick up the clothes. When they come back, we take the clothes to the car and say, ‘thank you.’”
What prices do you charge? “Regular dry cleaning is $4.39 for each garment. A laundered shirt is $2.29. A suit, every piece is $4.39. … A simple dress is $4.39. If it is fancy, a little bit more because it’s more time, more care.”
What do you like about your job? “Dry cleaning is very interesting. There’s a lot of challenges every day. It’s not an easy job. … You never satisfy everyone. … It’s a calm job. … Your only boss is the customer.”
Where are you from? “Egypt. I came here a long time ago. … If you can, go visit.”
Why did you come to America? “The land of opportunity. The land of dreams.”
What are your hours? “We’re open from 9 to 6 Monday through Friday and 9 to 5 on Saturday. We are closed on Sunday.”
Any future plans? “Keep going.”
Is this a good location? “Of course. We are close to Ogden (Avenue) and we are close to downtown.”
How many employees do you have? “Not so many now because of the business (being down). We try to do our best. We have four to five employees.”
What does a customer say? “He’s awesome. He is always friendly. I’ve never had a problem with my dry cleaning. I’ve been coming here since before he owned it,” said a Naperville woman at the drive-thru who requested her name not be used.
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What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Be patient. Try to satisfy everyone, which is impossible. Try to do your best,” Nawar said.
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at [email protected].