New Star Cleaners

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. It was an unusually quiet Sunday morning in downtown Chicago when a delivery driver pulled up to New Star Cleaners. The sun had barely risen over the skyscrapers, and the streets were empty except for a lone pigeon cooing on the corner.} As he approached the door, he noticed a small sign reading ‘Closed Sundays.’ With a shrug, the delivery driver knocked anyway—nothing ventured, nothing gained. To his surprise, the door opened slowly, revealing an old man with twinkling eyes. 'Ah,' said the owner, smiling warmly, 'we’re open today just for you!' Turning to his neighbor, who’d been watching curiously from across the street, he added, 'This happens every Sunday.'

2. It was a typical Monday afternoon at New Star Cleaners when the owner announced over the intercom: 'Attention please—we’ve just received a very special order for President Lincoln’s suit from 1863.' A few minutes later, an excited delivery driver rushed in, yelling, ‘I found it! I found it!’ He held up a dusty old garment bag with trembling hands. The suit looked more like something out of a time machine than anything else. The owner smiled and said, ‘Well, looks like history will be clean today after all.’

3. A delivery driver arrived early one autumn morning with a box of freshly laundered shirts. As he walked towards the entrance, something glinted in the sun from inside the cleaners' trash bin. Curious, he bent down and picked up a vintage coin, its edges worn smooth by time. The coin was old but not valuable—just an ordinary penny from the 1980s. Still, it brought a smile to his face as he remembered telling his kids about finding treasure on their way home. Upon entering the cleaners, he joked, ‘Guess who found some ancient history today!’ Everyone laughed, including the owner, who teased him for being too excited over such a small thing. It turned out that New Star Cleaners had become more than just a place for dry cleaning; it was now a neighborhood hangout where everyone shared stories and laughter.

4. A sign appeared overnight on the door of New Star Cleaners: ‘Dry Cleaning Now Offers Same Day Turnaround—Guarantee or Your Clothes Are Free!’ The next day, customers began arriving earlier and leaving later, whispering that their clothes were indeed cleaner—and now slightly lighter—in weight. Soon enough, word spread like wildfire through the neighborhood. A regular stopped in one morning with a suit for his job interview. By afternoon, he picked it up—a perfect fit, sparkling clean, but mysteriously half an inch shorter than before. When asked about it, the owner grinned sheepishly and said, 'We just wanted to make sure your suit fits perfectly!'