Longtime dry cleaner closes

BY LEIGH BLANDER

Mayflower Cleansers on Atlantic Avenue closed its doors Friday, Jan. 20, after 87 years in business. Several dry cleaners have closed in town recently, leaving only one remaining.

“I’ll miss Marblehead. The people in Marblehead are nice,” Mayflower owner David Schleri told the Marblehead Current. “It’s a sad moment.”

Schleri, who lives in Beverly, owned Mayflower since 2004. He says since COVID, people don’t need dry cleaning as much.

“Times have changed, especially with the pandemic. There’s remote work, Zoom meetings and an increase in casual wear. The bills keep going up and fewer people are coming in.”

Scherli said he tried to get another dry cleaner to take over.

“I reached out to a lot of people. No dry cleaner is booming right now.” He does not plan to reopen anywhere else.

Stephanie Doliber Lynch worked at Mayflower for 15 years and said she’s “sad to see it go.” So are Mayflower’s customers, who came to pick up their clothes for the last time. Doliber