Brooklyn Dry Cleaner Closes on Shabbat to Respect Local Jewish Community

A longstanding dry cleaning business on Kingston Avenue in the predominantly Haredi Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, has announced it will close on Shabbat for the first time. The shop at 316 Kingston Avenue recently changed ownership after the previous owner, Yon Bo Chon, retired at age 81. The business was purchased about a month ago by his niece, Lee Yang Kim, who now manages it alongside her husband, Sam.

Under the new ownership, the dry cleaner, known as Happy Dry Cleaners, will no longer operate on Saturdays. Lee Yang Kim told COLlive.com, "We want to respect the Jewish community and honor the Jewish day of rest." Previously, Happy Dry Cleaners was the only store open on Shabbat along this main shopping stretch of Kingston Avenue. With this change, all stores on both sides of this section of the avenue will now be closed on Shabbat.

The new weekly schedule for the dry cleaner will be Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Kim expressed excitement about this new chapter for Happy Dry Cleaners and looks forward to serving the Crown Heights community in the coming years.