Carrying on a

M

ultiple generations of
families have been taking
their dry-cleaning to the
two Birmingham locations of the
family-owned Douglas Cleaners
& Laundry for its heimish atmo-
sphere, quality work and exemplary
service.
On June 1
of this year,
customers now have
seen two new
friendly faces behind the counter:
Amy and Andre Douville.

The
Douvilles, well known in
the Jewish community for orga-
nizing the annual Walk for Israel
(May 3, 2020, at
Adat
Shalom
Synagogue,
where they are also
members), bought the business
from the third generation of the
family that originally opened
it in
1949.
“Andre and I always wanted to
do something together.
We began
looking at opportunities, but didn’
t
find anything we liked, until we
heard Douglas Cleaners was quietly
for sale.

For Amy, it was like coming
full circle. Her great-grandfather
Sigmund Berg owned Grand
Bell Cleaners and Rite-On-
Time dry-cleaners, which had
27 locations in the Detroit area,

originating
in the 1950s.
Her
great-uncle
Sidney Berg
and grand-
father Burton
Selik
worked in the
business until it was
sold in the late
1970s. Amy has vivid memories
of the cleaners and knew her PaPa
Burt and Uncle Sidney would be
so proud.
After months of due diligence,
the
Douvilles bought
Douglas
Cleaners, keeping all the employees
on staff.
“We came here the day
before we took over to meet every-
one and introduce ourselves. They
were so welcoming and excited to
take this new journey with us,”
Amy said.
Those employees are what make
Douglas Cleaners great, according
to Andre.
“People come because
of the quality service. They expect
perfection and our employees
deliver. We pride ourselves on our
expert spot removal and we truly
have the brightest whites. We
treat
customers like members of our own
family. We are so very fortunate to
have such dedicated and commit-
ted employees.”

Douglas Cleaners also offers
pick-up and delivery service, as
well as take-down, cleaning and

reinstalling draperies. Additional
services offered are rug cleaning
and leather/suede cleaning and
repair. Clothing dropped off by
10
a.m.
are ready for pick up the same
day. Later drop-offs are available
the next day. Douglas Cleaners
specializes in cleaning household
items. It also provides press-only for
items customers choose to wash at
home but who still want that fresh-
pressed look and feel.
Douglas Cleaners offers on-site
alterations with a very quick
turnaround, usually one day. The
Douvilles
were
delighted to learn
that two of their employees had
been master seamstresses in their
native Albania.
“Their work is
exquisite,”
Amy says. “They have
the ability to repair holes onsite in
garments that would need to be
sent out by most places.”

Andre also
boasts
about their
customers.
“We have had people
coming here for generations.
Just
recently, I asked one of our regular
customers
when he first started
coming to Douglas Cleaners. He
gave
it some thought and said
1964.
They talk about when their
parents used to come in and how
they sat on the counter when they
were little kids.”
Amy said she and Andre love
working together at both locations.
And they’
ve brought the rest of the
family into the business as well.
Son Zachary, 20, is the delivery
driver while he attends college and
daughter Emily, 20 as of Nov. 28,
who just graduated with a degree
in graphic design, created the com-
pany logo and other media pieces.
She really enjoys helping customers

as well. Son
Jacob, 18, a student
at Oakland University, is focused
on school, but helps out when he
can, and daughter Elin, 8, comes
in some days after school and on
Saturdays. She loves answering the
phones and helping customers.
“The customers love her,” Andre
said. “They are so patient while she
works the computer and they enjoy
her bubbly personality.”
Amy’
s mom,
Suretta
Must,
helps
out, too. She calls customers and
they always come in and ask to
meet the “lovely woman who called
me,” Amy said.
“My
step-dad, Alan Must,
is
our biggest marketer. Wherever he
goes, he will ask who they use for
dry cleaning and tell them they
must change to get the very best at
Douglas,”
she said. “He’
s been very
successful, too!”

This has been a dream come
true for Amy and Andre. The love
and support from their family and
friends as well as the excitement
and kindness of the staff and
customers has made each day full
of happiness and appreciation.
“We knew this day would come,”
Andre said. “Our greatest joy is
when a new customer says,” I heard
there were new owners and they
were so friendly I just had to bring
my cleaning here.”

LEFT: Owners Andre and Amy Douville in front of their Woodward store. RIGHT: Lynette Trombley of Warren and Lavdia Sina of Troy retrieve garments for customers.

Douglas Cleaners
900 N. Old Woodward
M-F: 7-7 Saturday: 9-3
(248) 642-6230

1794 West Maple Road
M-F: 7-6 Saturday: 9-3
(248) 644-2400

SPONSORED BY DOUGLAS CLEANERS & LAUNDRY

Tradition

New owners of Douglas Cleaners build
upon more than 70 years of service.

JERRY ZOLYNSKY