Foothills Cleaners comes to Yadkinville

Yadkinville residents now have a new place to have their special wardrobe items cleaned with care. Foothills Cleaners opened earlier this month and offers a full service dry cleaning business.

The business is run by Winston-Salem residents Dan Dempsey and his business partners John and Florence Collins. It is located at 108 Sharon Dr. in Yadkinville in the former Mutual Medical location.

“John and I and had looked at a couple places on Highway 601 but it just never worked out and he had noticed this place and so I came and checked it out and called him on it,” Dempsey said. “He liked it and since real estate is his specialty we moved on it.”

Dempsey said that he has been in the cleaners business since 2000. He and his former wife ran Twin City Cleaners in Winston-Salem for 10 years before the declining economy forced them to close in 2009.

Foothills Cleaner will provide Yadkin County with a full priced cleaner that offers a full range of services.

“We are a full priced cleaner, we do alterations, dry cleaning machine, wash, dry and fold and we are a wedding gown and formal wear specialist,” Dempsey said.

Dempsey said that the Yadkinville location does not offer a same day service because the clothes are delivered to one of his and John’s other locations.

“The clothes are cleaned at another of our cleaning locations and it does not lend itself to same day service for now, which doesn’t seem to be an issue in today’s times,” Dempsey said. “I pick the clothes up from this store and transport them to the other store three days a week. We maintain control of the clothes the entire time.”

Dempsey said that the average cleaning job has a three day turnaround. The business also hopes to push one of its specialties; wedding gown and formal wear cleaning.

Dempsey said that people put a large dollar amount into wedding gowns and formal wear so he thinks it’s important to offer a service to preserve that investment. He and his staff make sure that their customers understand the care and upkeep of these items instead of just cleaning them and handing them back.

Dempsey said that he will bring a service that he offered at Twin City Cleaners to the new Yadkinville location. It’s called Enchanted Memories and it allows high school students a chance at an affordable prom dress and accessories.

“We collect prom dresses and clean them at no charge and hold them until the first or second week of March,” Dempsey said. “Girls from the high schools can come and get a prom dress at no cost to them except for the alterations.”

Dempsey said that there is no application or financial requirement for girls who’d like to get a prom dress but they do require a valid driver’s license.

“Each girl gets a dress, a pair of shoes, a purse and one item of jewelry,” Dempsey said. “The only thing we ask the girls pay for is any alterations that are necessary and we’ll do those at a reduced rate. I think most girls spent $25 for their alterations.”