HEIDELBERG, Pa. — Jim Longo couldn’t have been any more emotional when he said on the phone Wednesday, “Our customers weren’t just people, they were friends. And they viewed us the same way. One told me, ‘You’re an institution. You even opened your store on your day off to take care of us. We’ll never forget you.’”
After more than six decades, Target Cleaners, currently owned by Longo and his wife Jacqueline, is closing. The Longos are retiring, and tomorrow will be the last day that Target’s doors will be open.
When asked why they decided to retire, Jim Longo chuckles, “Well, we’re just gettin’ old.” He adds that they want to enjoy retirement.
Their plans?
“We’ll stay local and be near our daughter. And to all our customers, we just tell them, ‘We’ll see you around at the grocery store,’” he says with a laugh.
Customers who visited the couple this week remembered fondly the years of bringing in clothing. “They drop in, not with cleaning,” Jim Longo shares, “but just to say so long. It’s amazing. All last week and this week, a stream of friends.”
His grandparents opened the first store in the 1940s in Pittsburgh’s Overbrook neighborhood. “It was called City Cleaners,” Longo remembers. “Their kids all got involved in the store. They would go out and pick up clothes to be cleaned. There wasn’t much walk-in traffic then.” They opened a second store in Carnegie, and other stores followed. Target Cleaners opened in 1952.
For more than 63 years, members of the Longo family have cleaned and mended clothes, and cleaned drapes for businesses. They also handled band uniforms and choir robes for Chartiers Valley School District.
Amidst the sounds of Jacqueline talking and laughing with friends entering the store, Jim is asked what they want to be remembered for.
After a pause, he says, “For fairness and service provided. We never advertised. Everything was word of mouth. A few weeks ago, we sent out a letter thanking our customers for their business over the years. That’s when friends began stopping by.”
He doesn’t have one favorite memory, he says. “We’re gonna miss everybody.”
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