Ronny Can’t Stay Retired; Buys Cleaners on Marquez

When Ronny Naidoo sold his popular market on Marquez Avenue last June after being in business for 14 years, he planned to travel with his wife, Debi. At the time she predicted, ‘Maybe we’ll get tired of traveling and we’ll come back and do something else.’ After traveling to Hawaii, the Bahamas, South Africa and Mexico on various trips, the Naidoos came back to their condo in Marquez Knolls, and Ronny soon realized that he was already growing tired of retirement. ‘I missed the people, I missed the kids,’ he said Monday. ‘When the opportunity came up right across the street [from his condo] I took it.’ On March 13, the Naidoos purchased Parklane Cleaners from Nurit Rouhparvar, who had owned the business for the past 24 years. The shop is next door to Ronny’s old market (still called Ronny’s Market) and the two owners had been friendly neighbors for years. ‘He is easy and I am easy, too,’ said Rouhparvar, who bought the cleaners from her cousin in 1984. Her cousin had acquired it from the original Parklane owner, who established the business in 1948 at the same location. The Parklane Cleaners sign still reads ‘We give S & H Green Stamps,’ a throwback to a different era. Rouhparvar is now planning to try a limited retirement, continuing in the store on Tuesday and Thursday to work on alterations. It is hard for her to leave because she has been at the store long enough to see the children, who came in with their families, now come in with their own families. ‘I’ve seen three generations,’ she said. ‘I worked 60 hours a week and I have a big family, 10 grandkids, so I’m ready to retire,’ said Rouhparvar, who will be full-time in the store for the next several weeks during the transition. Naidoo has also brought his son-in-law, David Bates, into the business. The two plan to automate the cleaners and add a 24-hour drop box for dry cleaning. Prices will remain the same and same-day service will continue for clothes brought in by 9 a.m. New customers will receive 50 percent off on their first dry-cleaning order. ‘We plan to add a recycle box for hangers,’ said Bates, who has also started researching other environmentally friendly options for the business. Bates and Naidoo plan to institute a delivery service, where customers can call to have their dirty clothes picked up, cleaned and then returned. Customers will be given their own laundry bag to reuse. Store hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In addition to regular dry cleaning, the store will continue to clean wedding dresses, rugs, leather and suede, and bedspreads. And Rouhparvar promises if there’s a hole in a garment, she can do the weaving to fix it. One of the highlights of Ronny’s old store was free gummy worms on the counter for the children. They’re back, with an additional draw for parents: free coffee. Ronny’s great smile is back, too.