The North Shore Weekend EAST, Issue 43

business | 19 Lake City stays focused on high-end cleaning

Victor Seyedin

Dr. Bob Buchanan

photography by joel lerner

■ by abby wickman When Victor Seyedin decided to open a dry-cleaning business in Highland Park, he was faced with a decision: what kind of a dry cleaner did he want to be?

“Do I want to be one that presses quickly and looks at the volume and not the quality? Or one that looks at quality and focuses on high-end garments?”

Seyedin asked.

He chose the latter. Fourteen years later, Lake City Cleaners has four locations in the greater Chicago area and draws customers from Lake Bluff to downtown. Under Seyedin’s leadership, Lake City Cleaners was the first dry-cleaning company to use Solvair — an environment-friendly cleaning system that uses biodegradable cleaning liquid and recycled carbon dioxide.

While some dry cleaners may offer a lower price than Lake City Cleaners, Seyedin says this often comes at the expense of quality.

“I make sure that when I press the pants, there’s no impression on the side, make sure there’s no double-crease, make sure the creases are at the same level,” he said.

“Business is common sense, and the problem is that common sense is quite uncommon,” Seyedin added. “It all goes back to the quality and the service – if you have that, and a good value for customers, you’ve built a relationship with the customer.”

Smart Decision

Because of the company’s pick-up and delivery, as well as a drive-through pickup window at its Highland Park location, Lake City Cleaners is a convenient choice, employee Naomi Castro said.

“We have a lot of regulars – some come almost every week,” Castro said. She has

“We have a lot of regulars – some come almost every week.” | Naomi Castro been with the company for five years and has seen clothing come in everywhere from ballet companies to the police department.

With delicate clothing, Lake City Cleaners boasts an expertise in hand-finishing.

“I always say, [if] people have very expensive china, when the dinner is done, they don’t put those dishes in the dishwasher, because they’re so fragile. The same thing applies here,” Seyedin said.

Though customers have the option to choose the Solvair system or hand-finishing for their clothing, Lake City Cleaners also offers a Classic Care basic cleaning option.

“We’re offering this to people because if they have regular pants or a regular shirt or a regular anything that needs to be cleaned day to day, they don’t need to be going through a couture department,” Seyedin said. “You want to make sure you’re being fair to the customer and you don’t overcharge them.” ■

Made a

“I wanted to live where my needs could be met and where I could be as independent as possible.” Dr. Buchanan moved to Westminster Place in 2009. He’s traveled the world during his work with an international university and displays his treasures throughout his cottage home. He takes advantage of many opportunities within the community to stay active, including art classes and the fitness center, and enjoys the group outings to the opera.

TAKE THE FIRST STEP IN MAKING YOUR

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