In the words of Peter Stavropoulos, “the drapes will be drawn” for the last time at Bigelow Cleaners at 4 PM on Thursday, August 31. The dry cleaner, located at 217 Sumner Street at the corner of Langley Road in Newton Center, has been owned and operated by brothers John and Peter Stavropoulos for the last 42 years. The business operated under previous owners starting in 1933 and moved to its current location in 1945.
John and Peter have been calling customers this week to inform them of the closure and to make sure clothes make their way back to their owners. They have offsite storage, so customers can continue to be reconnected with their clothes after Thursday by calling 781-333-7093.
Peter said of the closing, “The emotional part is hard.” Some customers shed tears the previous day when they learned of the news.
The brothers attributed the closure to the pandemic and the continuing high cost of doing business. John said, “The Covid really hit us, and there was no coming back. The pandemic cut business to 10%. People work out of their houses, don’t dress up anymore, and don’t have too many bar mitzvahs. The business never returned to previous levels, but the rent remained unchanged.”
John continued, “We’ve been here almost 42 years and have done well and been happy to be here. The location draws many educated people — lawyers, doctors, businessmen — we had the pleasure to learn a lot from them — it was a very educational place for us. Our connections helped several family members find their careers.” John and Peter have been operating the family business since they were in their early 20s, with their father George providing guidance and advice.
John lamented the loss of foot traffic associated with the closure of Walgreens and what he sees as stagnation in Newton Centre. “There is no growth here; every center that you go to, buildings are going up, second and third floors, condos, bringing in people. In Newton Centre, the past 20 years, it’s the same.” He said that Walgreens at one point wanted to add apartments above its store but was not allowed to due to zoning. “In the beginning, when I was hearing about that [Walgreens], and ideas like putting apartments in the Newton Centre parking lot, I was kind of against it, but as time went on, I realized ‘I’m wrong’ because every place you look at there is growth, here there is no growth.”
Jonathan Palmer, a 42-year-plus customer, commented, “They are very efficient, they are very polite and very trustworthy. One day my wife lost a beautiful ring [lost in a piece of clothing], and they found it and returned it.” Jonathan told the brothers, “Once you close here, you won’t go crazy; you will breathe easier. We [customers] will go crazy.”
In 1999, historian Arthur Krim researched the store’s iconic neon sign facing Langley, using City building permits to peg the sign’s construction at 1957. He also determined that the building opened in 1933, when it operated as O’Donnell Cleaners. Krim cited the neon sign as “one of the best neon script examples from the classic 1950s period in the suburban Boston area.” According to Peter, Bigelow Cleaners was originally established by Joe Sheman in 1933 in a location down Beacon Street and moved to the current building in 1945. Peter said that Sherman had originally partnered with the Davidson family, which split off to run Holly Cleaners on Centre Street. Peter noted, “We were very friendly with the two original brothers, Eddie and Bert Davidson, that owned Holly Cleaners. Eddie was the father of the current owner.”
John plans to move into semi-retirement, while Peter will continue to operate the pickup/delivery dry cleaning service that he has run in parallel with the physical store for the last 42 years. Inquiries about joining his service route can be made at 781-333-7093. The brothers will also retain the store’s phone number, 617-244-3569, which spells out to 617-BIGELOW. Peter said the store invoice still says, “Dial the name!” The brothers plan to leave the neon sign in place and believe that permits might be required to remove it, given its historical nature.
Business continued Tuesday morning with a woman rushing in with an emergency — her small dog had soiled her dress during a vet visit. John promised it would be ready on Thursday.
