THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503070062
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
AFTER ALMOST 70 years of doing business from an art deco storefront on Colonial Avenue, S. Ray Barrett Cleaners has moved.
But the business didn't go go far. To the relief of many of its longtime Ghent customers, the operation relocated to a site only three blocks away on 21st Street.
``It was hard to make the decision to move, but we had to,'' explained Al Keywood, owner and manager of the business that moved last weekend. ``We needed the space to grow. This building just has too many problems.''
``But we didn't want to lose the employees or the customers who have been with us for years,'' his wife, Mary, added. ``We wanted to stay in the neighborhood.''
After several years of scouting for a site to which to relocate, a year ago the Keywoods purchased a 25,000-square-foot former auto parts store near the corner of Llewellyn Avenue. The structure had burned to the ground in 1982 but was rebuilt two years later.
The Keywoods have been waiting for their lease on the current location to expire before moving. The Colonial Avenue storefront is owned by the heirs of the man who originally started the business in 1909.
S. Ray Barrett began his dry-cleaning operation by taking over an abandoned tailor shop in the Holland Apartments near the Hague. He paid $3 a week to rent the building, and he did all the work himself. His business took off right away. Six months later, he added a presser to help him.
In 1926, Barrett purchased four storefronts on Colonial Avenue and moved his burgeoning operation there. It has been there ever since.
By the early '60s, his custom dry-cleaning business had become so successful, Barrett had 45 employees in 10 locations throughout Hampton Roads. But the Colonial Avenue location was still his flagship operation, and in early 1960, he invested $70,000 in plant improvements and the purchase of new equipment.
The next 20 years weren't kind to the business, however, and the second generation of Barretts decided to pursue other interests. Consequently, the family decided to sell what was left of the once-thriving enterprise to the Keywoods in 1990.
``The business was on the verge of bankruptcy,'' Mary Keywood said. ``It had only seven employees and this one location. Still, it had a fine reputation for quality cleaning.''
Originally from Northern Virginia, the Keywoods were looking to buy a small business in Hampton Roads. After years spent relocating for their jobs, they wanted to put down roots.
``I had a coat ruined by a prominent cleaners, so I told Al as long as he was looking at businesses, find me a good dry cleaners,'' Mary joked. ``He found S. Ray Barrett.''
``I really don't know why I bought it,'' admitted Al Keywood, a former corporate vice president. ``I was burned out on big business. I wanted to be involved with something that was quality rather than volume-oriented.
``And to be honest, the price was right.''
Since taking over, the Keywoods have introduced several new services, branched out into wholesale work and tightened management procedures. Concentrating heavily on customer service has made a difference, the Keywoods believe.
Apparently, something has worked. Since 1990, sales have tripled. The Keywoods opened a satellite location in Virginia Beach last year.
After their move to 21st Street, the Keywoods have big plans. Now with double the space, they have invested $200,000 in new equipment that will replace some old equipment and allow them to start offering new services, such as cleaning smoke-damaged goods and bed linens.
``We'll be able to spread out and have nice, new, freshly painted areas for our employees,'' Mary Keywood said. ``They're really excited.''
Still a family-run business, S. Ray Barrett cleaners can hold its own against the competition of budget cleaners and chain operations, the Keywoods say.
``They have no effect on us,'' Al Keywood said. ``Our prices are high and still we grow and grow. We're at the top end of the scale . . . because we do quality work.''
``When we bought this business we decided to keep the name, because it had such a fine reputation,'' Mary added. ``To have survived all these years, they must have done something right. We just want to keep that going.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
And this is the new S. Ray Barrett shop that recently opened on 21st
Street, three blocks from the old site.
Photo
This is what the Barrett dry-cleaning business, which opened in
1909, looked like many, many years ago in its former location on
Colonial Avenue.
by CNB