Consolidated Cleaners Inc., a Tide Cleaners franchisee, acquired Widmer’s dry cleaning business in a deal inked Dec. 9. Widmer’s, which debuted in 1910, will no longer offer dry cleaning services. However, its carpet cleaning, area rug cleaning and commercial cleaning business will remain in operation out of its facility at 1776 Tennessee Ave.
Widmer’s owner Mitun Patel sold the dry cleaning portion of the business to Consolidated Cleaners for an undisclosed price after the company approached him with a deal. The sale included Widmer’s retail locations and delivery routes for the following seven Cincinnati area neighborhood locations:
- O’Bryonville
- Madeira
- Hyde Park
- Sycamore Township
- Montgomery
- Mt. Washington
- Erlanger.
“Widmer’s has been around for 115 years and has a great legacy we really feel will add to the Tide operations in Cincinnati,” Robert Lyons, president and CEO of Consolidated Cleaners, told me.
Lyons already operates four other Tide Cleaners locations in Mason, Oakley, Anderson and Blue Ash. This acquisition doubled Lyons’ existing delivery route and expanded his footprint into most Cincinnati area markets.
While Lyons did not disclose the amount invested in the acquisition, he did say it was a “significant capital investment.”
“We believe that Cincinnati is ripe for growth from our perspective … and it was well worth the investment,” Lyons said.
All Widmer’s dry cleaning employees were offered positions with Tide Cleaners. Over the next few months Tide Cleaners will work to fully rebrand and transition all acquired locations. Lyons said this will require some facility upgrades and renovations. He is currently searching for a general contractor.
Lyons said there is still plenty of room to grow in the Cincinnati market, especially in the Northern Kentucky region.
“We are always open to additional acquisitions,” he said.
Lyons currently operates 42 Tide Cleaners locations and more than 50 delivery routes in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Kentucky.
The future of a legacy brand
Doug Hauenstein is the general manager and spokesperson for Widmer’s. He said Consolidates Cleaners’ acquisition was not a surprise. The dry cleaning industry overall is not what it once was.
“People dress differently for work,” he said. “Not as many people are wearing suits.”
In the dry cleaning world, companies can only really grow through acquisitions, according to Hauenstein. It is a different story for carpet, rug and commercial cleaning industries. He expects the Widmer’s name to carry on in the region for decades to come.
“I see a tremendous opportunity for growth,” Hauenstein told me.
Right now, the company has 15 employees, and he expects to hire more in the future. Carpet cleaning is a $6.9 billion industry, according to IBISWorld, an industry market research organization. Hauenstein said the industry is in growth mode, seeing about a 2% increase year-over-year.
The company already has carpet, rug and commercial cleaning accounts with a variety of restaurants, offices and hotels. Hauenstein said he wants to continue growing these commercial and residential accounts in 2026. Widmer’s will soon invest in building a new showroom at its Tennessee Avenue facility, he added. An exact timeline was not provided.
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