Made In Chicago: Pert Cleaners
(CBS) -- Pert Cleaners in Old Irving Park is probably a lot like the dry cleaner in your neighborhood.
Except Pert Cleaners has a museum of laundry and dry cleaning, like a collection of old irons.
"This one over here actually ran on natural gas, like you light the lights on your house with natural gas," said owner Frank Lupo. "Most of this stuff has just been brought in over the years by different people. Very little of this have we actually gone out and purchased anywhere. It just kind of found its way to us here at Pert Cleaners."
His father bought the business in 1952.
Podcast
Frank has worked for his dad on and off through the years, until a longtime employee quit about a decade ago.
"So I came back," he said. "I was just going to get him organized one more time and get some help in here for him and that was it. I guess you're looking at the new help."
Lupo says they've cleaned an odd assortment of attire in the past 64 years, but one stands out.
"That would be a giant cockroach costume for Halloween," he said.
He knows his customers all by name.
On the other side of the counter, Lupo is sort of like a bartender, just dry cleaning, no dry martinis.
"I just get all kinds of people in here and they come in and they'll spend 25 minutes in here, dropping off their cleaning and talking," he said. "Even yesterday I said to my dad, 'I should be their psychiatrist.' They come in and they talk about everything and I talk about everything also."
Frank Lupo, owner of Pert Cleaners and the "Antique Fabricare Museum."
