Then & Now: An’s Dry Cleaning

[SanDiegoMagazine.com – March 9, 2021] When Travis Bailey and Kris Warren first secured their space in North Park, their new gelato shop still didn’t have a name. The 1930s storefront had housed a dry cleaner for 12 years prior. As a joke, they suggested keeping the old name. But the more they thought about “An’s Dry Cleaning,” and the ways they could incorporate elements from the old business and the history of the art deco building into their new concept, the more that joke became a serious idea.

With the help of their designer, Keenan Hartsten, the gelato guys embraced the history of their new home and kept as much intact from the original place as possible. It took some work, but the end result is the one we see today: a seamless blend of the past and present, all under one roof.

An’s Dry Cleaning’s original storefront

Dig This Deco

“On the exterior you can see the art deco style in the recessed entryway and the triangular design elements on the right,” Bailey says.

They carried that influence inside the shop by adopting the same green and black into their color scheme, adding art-deco style wall lights, and revamping two hanging lights that were from the original An’s.

Return to the Fold

Inside you’ll find more nods to An’s. The gelato flavors are all named after fabrics, Hartsten modeled the tables after ironing boards, and some familiar clip art watches over the store. “We researched a lot of other dry cleaners for inspiration, and that graphic on the right interior wall is a popular motif in many of those businesses,” Warren says.