[kxly.com – 2026.07.22] SPOKANE, WASH. — Chances are you’ve seen the Clarks Cleaners on South Division Street as you enter and leave Downtown Spokane countless of times. After 40 years of running, it’s closing its doors later this week.
The closure comes after multiple challenges that have made operating the business increasingly difficult, according to management.
Manager Jack Gumm says there were several financial and location issues that went into the decision.
“The state of the community we have here has been nothing but a nightmare,” Gumm said. “We’ve worked closely with the police department and the city.”
He says employees often directed customers to the business’s other location, Clark’s Cleaners, on Mission and Hamilton instead. Other businesses in the area who have also closed down have claimed a high crime rate on the street as their reason for leaving.
Gumm says the business never fully recovered financially from the pandemic. He says he lost a lot of customers when people stopped commuting to offices, and as a result, they were no longer having to dry clean their clothes.
“When COVID happened, everybody kind of changed their lives in staying home. They aren’t out in public as much,” Gumm said. “It just never gained [back] after COVID at all.”
With more people working from home nowadays, the need for drycleaning has decreased.
Beyond pandemic impacts, the business has struggled with customer’s relying more on washing machines. Gumm says with the majority of clothing now being made with polyester, the need for professional dry-cleaning services is lower.
Gumm noted that owner Clark Kelsey chose to keep prices low despite rising inflation over the years. While prices for other services climbed significantly, Clark’s Cleaners maintained cheaper rates.
“It’s hard enough, like I said, to go buy a cheeseburger for $14 or a meal for $14, then come to your dry cleaning for 30…[and] we’re only charging, you know, half that,” Gumm said.
Management says Owner Clark Kelsey has been ill for months now. As a result, they had to pull back from day-to-day operations.
Clarks Cleaners last day will be Friday. The other Clark’s Cleaners location on Mission and Hamilton will remain open.
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