BY JASON COHEN
For more than a century Ernest
Winzer Cleaners has been the offi cial
dry cleaner for Broadway. But, never
has it faced adversity as it does now.
Located at 1828 Cedar Ave., it
opened in 1908 and specializes in
dry cleaning of theatrical costumes,
mascots, wedding gowns, leather,
suede, fur cleaning, rugs, upholstery
and draperies. Run by Bruce Barish,
whose grandfather Al bought it from
the original owner Ernest Winzer,
Barish took the reins in 2000, when
his dad Miles retired.
Barish and his wife Sarah sat
down with the Bronx Times to chat
about how they are barely staying
afl oat during the pandemic.
“We’re falling into debt like most
businesses out there that are trying
to survive,” he said. “I knew in the
beginning you couldn’t compare this
to anything. I expected it to into the
summer. I certainly didn’t expect it to
go into the next summer.”
They worked through snowstorms,
9/11 and protests, but never
experienced anything like the past
nine months.
Many of his employees have been
with them for decades and unfortunately,
they had to let some go and or
reduce their hours.
The two fl oor facility has about 30
employees, four vans making pickups
and drop-offs and Mondays and
Thursday are extremely busy. Today,
it is a ghost town.
“There’s no sense of normalcy,”
Barish said.
Barish knows many in the industry,
but none have been impacted like
his company.
However, he has kept his routine.
He still wakes up at 2 a.m. and goes to
work at 5 a.m.
Barish began coming to Winzer at
7-years-old with his dad and instantly
fell in love with it. The colorful costumes
caught his eye and he knew
that was where he would work one
day. As soon as he got out of college in
1986 he joined and never left.
“It’s a cool place because of what
we do,” he explained. “My grandfather
knew this is what I wanted to do.
He never got to see it.”
In addition to Broadway, they have
cleaned Snoopy and the Jeffrey the Giraffe
costume from the Toys “R” Us.
Their dedication and hard work
was recognized in 2018 when the Barishs’
were the recipients of a Tony
award. Barish noted the fi rst place
he went with it was his grandfather’s
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 44 AN. 15-21, 2021 BTR
grave.
“Getting that Tony award honor
we knew it was on the backs of everyone
who worked before us,” he
stressed.
As he looks to the summer when
Broadway is supposed to reopen, Barish
feels business will not be booming.
According to Barish, only one or
two shows run because they need to
see how the virus is and if it is still
spreading rapidly.
“I think it will take years for a
business like ours to get back to
where it was” he commented. “I hope
I’m wrong.”
Dry cleaners for Broadway
persevere during COVID-19
The Barishs’ with their Tony award.Courtesy of the Barishs’
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