Does the return to the offices mean more business for dry cleaners?
For the first time since the pandemic started, there are plenty of clothes to wash and press at Iris Cleaners and Tailors in East Elmhurst. Co-owner Carlos Landazabal said business finally started to improve a few weeks ago, when more New Yorkers started to return to the office. Lot of ties, suits, dresses everything. Its really picked up, said Landazabal. What You Need To Know Iris Cleaners and Tailors in East Elmhurst has been in business for more than 40 years    After a tough year, business is starting to improve as more New Yorkers head back to the office    The Queens Chamber of Commerce says many dry cleaners and laundromats in the borough went out of business during pandemic  Landazabals parents started the business more than 40 years ago after emigrating from Colombia. During the height of the pandemic, with so many people working from home and many events canceled, there wasnt much of a need for dry cleaning and tailoring. They closed for six months. We cant pay the rent. We cant pay the bills. We cannot. No, it was very, very, very difficult, said Maria Landazabal. They managed to survive by shifting to more laundry services. Some grant money also helped, but other similar businesses in Queens were not as lucky. The Queens Chamber of Commerce says many dry cleaners and laundromats have gone out of business. Those poor folks lost a fortune, said Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Grech. In many cases, you know, they had rents to pay as well. They had out of pocket costs. Their employees were not able to collect a paycheck, and they themselves as the business owners took a huge hit to their personal bottom line.  Grech said the chamber has seen an uptick in the dry cleaning business since New Yorkers started to return to the office. Yet the Landazabals are not out of the woods yet. All the back rent that wasnt paid back then, the landlord was nice enough to let us stay and see what would happen. Yeah, now they want their rent back, said Carlos Landazabal. But theyve been able to hire back their two employees. And for the first time in over a year, theyre hopeful.