Victor Pacheco, Mike Amore Jr. and Miguel Castillo

When local business owners descend upon our office to blab about why they're the best, plenty of them are energetic and excited to tell us all about their businesses. However, among these people, Michael Amore Jr., owner of Jet Cleaners, is possibly the most enthusiastic.

He terms Jet Cleaners' biz the "Garment Services Industry"--no longer just the remote specialty of cleaning garments that wouldn't survive a washing machine but, to an increasing degree, acting as a laundry service for people who are too busy to do it themselves but need their clothes pressed, finished and ready to wear.

Asked what he likes best about doing business in New Haven, Amore says "the diversity." "The changing face of New Haven is and has been visible in Jet Cleaners," Amore says. He explains that since 1988, when he started running the show, he's seen and employed the different ethnic groups that make up the city. He says that when he first began, much of his workforce was African American, but that now he hires more Latinos.

Jet Cleaners family to mark 50 years

July 15, 2006

Cara Baruzzi, New Haven Register Staff

NEW HAVEN - Walking into Jet Cleaners at 687 State St., customers are greeted by a mix of modernity and nostalgia.

Photos of the original owners, as well as a "Shirt Service" sign that was part of the business' first facade in 1956, adorn the wall behind the counter. Beyond that wall, however, is state-of-the art laundering, pressing and dry-cleaning equipment.

In the 50 years Jet Cleaners has been operating the family-owned business will celebrate its anniversary next month -- its owners have continually strived to embrace its history while moving forward with industry trends, said owner Michael Amore Jr.

"I've enjoyed the business," said Amore, 49, a 1980 Quinnipiac College grad and Certified Public Accountant, who became owner in 1988 with his wife, Tammy. "You have to stick to it. You have to keep moving forward."

Amore's father, Michael, and Uncle Vincent founded Jet Cleaners with their father, Nicholas, at 700 State St. The company moved across the street to its current 5,500-square-foot space in 1965. Nicholas Amore died shortly before the move. His sons Michael and Vincent died in 1999.

Its founders chose the name because, in the 1950's, "Jet meant fast. Jet meant modern, cutting-edge," Amore said. The business employs 14 on State Street. In 1997, the Amores opened a smaller drop store in their hometown, Cheshire, where five people work.

Though he is proud of Jet Cleaners' 50-year heritage, Mike Jr. remains focused on keeping it current. Amore's 18-year-old son, also named Michael, works at the New Haven plant during the summer and may eventually run it. In 1997, Mike Jr. started a company Web site in 1997, which has grown to include an e-mail list and online coupons. "You wouldn't usually see that in this type of business," the younger Amore said.

The owners also let employees rotate through various positions during the day so they do not have to work at the same job, such as pressing pants, all day, which is another change from the business' early years, when workers had one assigned duty. "It makes for a better crew," the elder Michael Amore said. "It keeps the workers fresh."

Lloyd Parchement, a customer for 25 years, said he frequents Jet Cleaners because it's a family-run business with a long-standing reputation. "They do a terrific job," he said, dropping off clothes on a recent morning. "The service is excellent."

Jet Cleaners' customers are drawn to the business' service and reputation, as well as its community involvement, the younger Amore said. The company regularly holds coat drives, food drives for soup kitchens and other community service events.

This article appeared in the New Haven Register 7/15/06

Honoring Jet Cleaners As They Celebrate Their 50th Anniversary

June 6, 2006

Speech of Hon. Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut in the U.S. House of Representatives

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to congratulate the Amore Family as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jet Cleaners--the family owned and operated laundry and dry cleaning business which has become a local landmark in my hometown of New Haven, Connecticut. In August of 1956 came the opening of an innovative new laundry service which offered the families of New Haven 1-hour service. Gracing the outside of the new store was a high-tech neon sign and behind the counter customers would find Nicholas, Michael and Vincent (“Jim'') Amore--Jet Cleaners, aptly named for the fast service customers would come to know, was open for business. 

After operating the Chapel Laundry and Dry Cleaners for twenty-seven years, Nicholas Amore and his two sons opened Jet Cleaners with the vision of bringing fast, efficient service to their customers. Built on the corner of State and Trumbull Streets in downtown New Haven, Jet Cleaners would quickly become known for their dedication and vision. The Amore family were well known for looking to the future, so it was no surprise when they ensured they would be able to expand their business by leasing the adjacent space and purchasing the property across the street from the original plant. In the leased space, the Amores established the largest coin laundry in New Haven with 40 washers and twenty dryers. 

As the business continued to expand, Nicholas, Michael, and Vincent looked to build a larger plant in a new location across the street. Though founder Nicholas Amore died and would not see the opening of the new store, Jet Cleaners moved to its new home in 1966 where it continues to stand today. Family, friends, and customers brought a variety of plants to celebrate the opening of the new store which were placed in the counter area in front of the two large plateglass windows. Over the years, customers have left more and more plants and a large dracaena was even rescued from a local pub. Thriving in the steam-filled environment, their collection of greenery soon became the trademark of Jet Cleaners.

Three generations later, Jet Cleaners is still owned and operated by the Amore family. Michael Amore's sons, Mike, Jr. and Douglas took over operation in 1988.  Mike Jr and his wife Tammy now continue to operate the family's legacy. Customers of Jet Cleaners can experience the small touches each generation has made to the store. Today you still find the same dedication to fast, efficient customer service, the array of beautiful plants still meet customers as they enter the store, and Mike, Jr. continues to expand the business branching out into wholesale markets and becoming the first area dry cleaner to offer credit and debit card service. They have even opened a satellite store in Cheshire. Perhaps the most special contribution Jet has made is that which gives back to the community. In 1995, Jet Cleaners joined with WTNH Channel 8 to promote a Holiday Coat Drive which became the catalyst for future coat drives and a number of community service activities.

I have always believed that our small businesses are the backbone of our economies. Jet Cleaners is a shining example of all that our small businesses can contribute--they not only provide a service to their customers, but dedicate themselves to making our community a better place to live and work. Today, as the Amore family and the New Haven community celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jet cleaners, I am proud to stand to congratulate them on this very special occasion and extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to them for all that they have brought to our community. 

New Haven Advocate - Best Dry Cleaners - 2006

May 20, 2006

In business since: 1956, which makes '06 Jet's 50th anniversary

Stopped by for the interview: Michael J. Amore Jr.

How'd you get the idea to start this business: The business was started by Mr. Amore's grandfather, dad, and uncle.

What do you like the most about your line of work? I love the action and the diversity. I just have a good time.

What's your favorite thing about New Haven? We have so many good cusomters that come in, from so many walks of life.

Who's your favorite customer? I appreciate the successful customer who's just down to earth.

What makes your business the best of its kind New Haven? I have very good people working for me.

If you could magically change jobs and be in another line of work, what would it be? Art is something I enjoy. I could be a graphic designer.

Do you play music in your store? What kind? We have competing interest between Metallica, WPLR, and rap music. Everyone brings their own boombox.

Are there any changes coming in your business in the year to come? We're thinking about adding automatic doors and a better place for the drop chute.

-Available online at the New Haven Advocate's web site.

Starch and steam and 'best' attire
A New Haven Register Editorial
By Robert Leeney, Editor Emeritus

May 13, 2006

THEY'RE marking a 50th anniversary year these days at Jet Cleaners on State Street, near the Interstate 91 ramp.

The festivity salutes a lot of cleaning and pressing, washing and ironing by three generations of the Amore family.

It means that equal generations of New Haven area people - like me -- have been dropping-by almost weekly to entrust their claims to cleanliness, and even godliness, to the Amores in their hustling house of hygienic haberdashery and fragile couture during all the changing styles since the 1950s.

A major element in the celebration is a 153-page, spiral-bound book of memories compiled by present owner-operator Mike Amore. He speaks for the family's third generation on State Street. He does so with a deft economy of words - a single page of writing for each of the decades.

He fills in the record, however, with a wealth of illustrations, drawings, ads and photographic artifacts like building permits and bank statements that trace the ever-changing family enterprise down the decades in an ever-changing New Haven on a once-drab State Street that grows steadily glossier as the eastern beltway for central New Haven.

The city and the dry-cleaning business were embracing major changes when the book's narrative begins in 1956.

The military hero of World War II, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, was president. In New Haven, dynamic Richard C. Lee had just been elected to a second term as mayor. Buses had replaced streetcars on their narrow two-way tracks on State Street. Family cars were linking customers to suburban shopping malls.

Home television, with "I Love Lucy" and the "Ed Sullivan Show," was challenging movie attendance. Still, the top movies that year were "The Ten Commandments" and "Baby Doll." Elvis Presley and "Blue Suede Shoes" led the hit parade. "My Fair Lady" had just played the Shubert. And for the first time, the nation's airlines carried as many passengers as the railroads.

So, it was natural that the Amore family, setting up a new, architect-designed dry cleaning center, called it Jet Cleaners to express the community energy, the technology and the personal hope of a new era.

The whole Amore family had been involved in dry cleaning from youth. The family investment was kept going in World War II by immigrant founder Nicholas and his wife, Rose, at their Chapel Laundry on Grand Avenue. Home from the wars, Mike and Vincent (always called Jim), moved with their father to State Street, at Trumbull, and what was first called Jet One-Hour Cleaners.

They were marketing swift, high quality cleaning to many customers who, before the war, washed shirts at home. As customers and cars crowded their curbs, the family steadily bought land across the street. They were ready for drive-in parking when the state dropped a ramp of Interstate 91 almost at their new front door in 1965.

Since then, a branch has been opened in Cheshire and the growth of Jet Cleaners has been steady and productive. After age, retirement and death removed the first two generations of Amores, a cooperative family change put the plant's management into Mike's hands for a third generation. He has followed the same vigorous path.

A recent feature article in Drycleaners News, quoted in the book, says Jet Cleaners is "flying high" on a strong relationship with customers, employees and the community. It cites the regular autumn Coats for Kids program at Jet and a joint program with the Yale University Police Department to collect, clean, press and ship police uniforms to New Orleans. Since Katrina, the Jet Cleaners staff has also given primary support to collections, at the plant, for a tractor-trailer load of necessities taken to Louisiana by the Rev. Anthony B. Brown of Community for Change for the Arts.

So the Jet thrust continues for customers and community in 2006.

Jet Cleaners Honored By NCA
National Cleaners Assoc. Presents 50 Year Plaque

November 15, 2005

The National Cleaners Assoc. (NCA), based in New York City, New York recently honored Jet Cleaners of New Haven and Cheshire for celebrating its 50th year in the Dry Cleaning Industry. Jet has been associated with NCA for 43 of those years.

A commemorative plaque was presented to Jet's owner, Michael J. Amore Jr. Amore is the third generation owner of the business, founded by his grandfather and father in 1956. The elder Amore passed away in 1965, and the business was operated his sons, Michael Amore Sr. and Vincent Amore until 1988, when Vincent retired. The young Amore Jr. then joined his father, and worked side by side until Michael Sr.âs death in 1999. Currently, Michael Jr. runs Jetâs day-to-day operations, and his wife Tammy is controller for both locations.

"For a small, family business, 50 years is quite an accomplishment. It is something we are all very proud of. My predecessors would be pleased that their legacy is being carried on," said Michael Amore Jr.

Jet Cleaners is active in community affairs, and has run clothing and food drives for WYBC Coats for Kids, Hurricane Katrina Relief, Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen and various other organizations.

Drycleaners News "Coming Clean" Profile
"Jet Cleaners Flying High with Amore at the Controls"

October 25, 2005

Mike Amore, with Cheshire Manager Patti Proto, in front of the original shirt sign (circa 1956) from Jet's first store at 700 State St., New Haven, CT

Name of Business: Jet Cleaners

Owners: Mike Amore (respondent) now oversees the company started by his father and uncle in 1956, a business named by the two brothers after the Hoffman "Jet" dry cleaning machine that would do the bulk of the cleaning work in the company's original plant. Since Mike's grandfather was also involved early on with various tasks at Jet Cleaners, Mike represents the third generation for the business, which has been voted "Best Dry Cleaner" for the past five years in the New Haven Advocate readers' poll.

But Mike did not work in the business as a youth, as his father's mantra was "Go to college. Don't work at the cleaners," relates Amore. After graduating from Quinnipiac College, Mike went to work as a CPA. "But after my mother died at age 53, and with a young daughter, I decided life is too short to spend it grinding out taxes," he says. "So I decided to help my father with the family business, which has allowed me more time to spend with my own two children and family." Mike's wife, Tammy, who is the accountant for Jet Cleaners and spends her days at the Cheshire Location, also believes family is important. "She makes sure we have a family dinner every night and a family vacation each year," says Amore.

Type of Business: Jet Cleaners has a modern 5,500 square foot plant and retail operation on the edge of downtown New Haven, along with a drop store in a shopping center in nearby Cheshire (opened in 1997), where the Amores now live. The glass-enclosed lobby at the New Haven site features a beautiful botanical garden with plants of various types, with some almost as old as the building itself, given by well-wishing customers as gifts when Jet moved there in 1965. Besides basic dry cleaning and shirt laundering, Jet Cleaners also services drapes, wedding gowns, households, and offers full service tailoring. Over the years, Amore has built up a number of wholesale and office accounts, and provides its service for various segments of Yale University, including the Yale Fire Dept, Med School, Yale Rep and Yale School of Drama. In addition, Jet offers a 10% discount to the entire Yale community.

Questions from Drycleaners News:

What types of garments currently make up a typical day or week's work for your staff? Have you noticed a move toward more formal clothes being brought in for processing?

Answer: " On a weekly basis, we generally have a balanced workload, typically a similar number of dry clean garments and shirts. We have seen shirt volume rise about 15% this year, while dry cleaning is up around 5%. We are seeing more men's suits than in the past couple of years. Business casual seems to have moved from the "Docker's" style to more upscale brands and fabrics. I attribute our rise in shirt volume to new washing equipment with hot water heater and liquid soap injection. Quality, not price, generates shirt volume."

Do you have any tips on positive PR to address customers' environmental concerns or to combat the public's negative sentiment towards our industry?

Answer: " We are in an "academic" community, and a good portion of our clientele is associated with Yale University. Frankly, we don't get much feedback or questions regarding environmental issues. We maintain good solvent quality and adequately reclaim our solvent, so there is no tell-tale odor in our plant that might raise the customersâ sensitivity levels to our process. Our PR "ace in the hole" is the botanical garden in the lobby of our plant. I believe that the thriving garden sends an environmentally-safe message to our customers.

What types of marketing/promotion do you utilize to attract and keep customers?

Answer: " We utilize mailers to develop and maintain business, from postcards geared toward regulars, to discounts attached to initial orders for new customers. We get sales leads from resident lists released by municipalities we serve, or even from contacts made during the various community-based efforts or events we participate in. I am the main marketing person, and love to come up with ideas and concepts to keep us on the customers' mind. The home computer is instrumental in this effort. I am currently working on a scrapbook and marketing pieces related to our 50th anniversary for 2006, and found some great old clothing-related magazine ads from the 50's at an antique show. I am incorporating these graphics into our pieces to display a classic, "old-school", historical feel to our ads. This "old" historical look will tie the past to the present and emphasize quality, commitment and service...something we have been offering for 50 years.

In operating two busy locations, how do you find the time to prepare the various marketing pieces, and setup and analyze the two stores production figures/statistics for business planning?

Answer: "I've been able to transfer the organizational and numbers focus from my accounting background to set up some excel number crunching worksheets to track and monitor certain key figures. Our point of sale computer system, which provides the raw, day-to-day data, aids in this. As for the PR side, I am able to burn the midnight oil and produce effective ads and offers without incurring expense to an outside ad agency. But in general, my time is freed up by the strong middle management people I employ; Carla Esposito and Russell Taylor at my New Haven Plant, Patti Proto at my Cheshire store, and most importantly, my wife Tammy, who is the accountant for both locations. Esposito has been with us for 25 years, and was recently honored with a commemorative plaque. Taylor has been with us for 10 years, and is in charge of production at the plant, and Proto has been with us in Cheshire since we opened in 1997. It's the relationship with customers and relationship with employees that leads to our company's success."

How do you see the future of the drycleaning business?

Answer: "For those individual owners that stay focused, the future is solid, although the cost of energy is a major concern. Its recent exponential increase is harder to absorb, than say, hangers, poly or solvent. Therefore, pricing is critical. We as an industry, cannot be wary of raising prices in a time when costs are out of control. We must work smarter, not harder, to be profitable."

What do you consider the biggest problem in the drycleaning industry today?

Answer: "The problem, as I see it, arises from the name "drycleaners" which is a misnomer. It sounds too mysterious, and historically, the name has a bad reputation. With alternate solvents and wetcleaning available, busy customers (both working spouses and professionals) are less concerned with what we do to their clothes. They simply want their garments 'ready to wear'...we are 'Garment Servicing Professionals.'"

Hurricane Relief Efforts Recognized
Jet Cleaners' efforts featured in Drycleaners News

October 25, 2005

The scenes of destruction on the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Katrina truly have been devastating. Many people are donating their hard-earned money or volunteering time to help the victims of this tragedy. And the Northeast's dry cleaners are no exception, with a number of efforts organized by individual cleaners. Jet Cleaners of New Haven, Connecticut is one of those cleaners.

Linking up with the city's Community for Change for the Arts, Inc. program, Jet Cleaners was a primary drop off location for donations to aid the victims of the September storm. A cookout, hosted by Rev. Anthony Brown was held at Jet's New Haven store.

"Both Jet locations (New Haven and Cheshire) received many donations from generous customers," says Amore. "Bottled water, blankets, towels, shoes, clothing and toiletries were collected and transported to a central location." Organizers planned to fill a tractor-trailer with the much-needed donations, and Rev. Brown will be accompanying the driver to Louisiana to distribute the articles to the victims of the hurricane.

In another effort, Lt. Harry DeBenedet of the Yale University Police Department developed and coordinated a department-wide effort to gather police uniforms for the beleaguered New Orleans Police Department.

Once collected, uniform pants and shirts were delivered to Jet for processing, a service that they provided at no charge. Approximately 250 items were donated, cleaned, pressed and bagged, then Yale's Police Dept. arranged for transport of the uniforms to the New Orleans Police Department, according to Jet's Mike Amore.

Home Heating Oil Theft in New Haven
Jet Cleaners victimized

(New Haven - WTNH-8, August 29, 2005)

by News Channel 8's Erin Cox

The spiraling price of heating oil could be causing some to take desperate measures.

The story...Friday, the oil tank at Jet Cleaners was full. Monday the manager discovers it's empty. Somebody siphoned hundreds of gallons of number two heating oil out of the tank at the back of the business.

Mike Amore of Jet Cleaners, says, "Our fill up was Friday. We had 281 gallons put in, topping off the tank. The capacity is 550 gallons, so I estimate anywhere from 250-500 gallons were stolen"

"Securing oil never occurred to me!" says Amore, "but don't forget, number two home heating oil can run diesel vehicles."

At first it may sound silly, somebody stealing oil, but police are taking it seriously. They are even trying to get fingerprints right off the tank.

"Potentially you're looking at just under 500 gallons, at two dollars per gallon...you're looking at a thousand dollar theft here, in oil...amazing, amazing," says Amore.

High oil prices may have pushed someone over the edge - and the empty tank put a wrinkle in the production day at Jet. No oil meant no steam, no hot water, no dryers; at the dry cleaners that means, no work. Hundreds of dollars in payroll were wasted while the workers all waited for the tank to be filled.

"You can consider this grand theft oil," says Amore

The criminal charge would actually be larceny. To prevent any more losses, Mike is changing the easy access to his oil. "We put a new locking cap on the tank. I'm also considering fencing the rear end of our property to the corner of the building to create more security," says Amore.

New Haven Advocate - Best Dry Cleaners - 2005

May 19, 2005

Funny the turns that life can take.

Even at the dry cleaners. Michael Amore Jr. never worked at the family business when he was a kid. "My father's mantra was, 'Go to college. Don't work at the cleaners.'"

Amore studied at Hopkins, then Quinnipiac College. He went to work at a CPA firm. Then his mother died at age 59. Amore had a young daughter. He decided "life is too short" to spend it "grinding out the taxes." So he went into the family business.

Jet Cleaners Owner Michael Amore

You'd think running a small family business is more demanding than working for someone else. But Amore says he's able to "work my day around my family." He gets to his son's ballgames. His wife (also an accountant) makes sure they have a family dinner every night and a family vacation every year.

For all the traditional lifestyle, though, Amore is a modern guy with an entrepreneurial bent. The frustration of the dry-cleaning biz, for him is that "until someone can figure out how to virtually send me their shirts, you're limited to your local area." His solution: "I'm having fun with our website. It's almost my way of staying on the edge of technology in a business where you don't have that reach."

As a young man, Amore says, he used to make fun of his dad's old-style Italian ways: the sentimentality, the penchant to learn (and repeat) the life stories of every customer who came into the New Haven shop. But now, Amore Jr. is learning where that comes from.

He opened a small store in Cheshire, where he lives. "All of a sudden you had to walk a different walk. And I understood my father a little better." Running a business in your own community requires "a different level of accountability," says the ex-accountant. He supports all the local causes: the lacrosse team, the baseball league, Friends of Legal Aid.

And he's already thinking about Jet Cleaners' 50th anniversary. It's more than a year away, in August 2006. But Amore is hanging black-and-white photos, putting together a scrapbook. "I used to make fun of my father for doing that." Funny the turns that life can take.

Jet Participates in Staples Business Expo

Cheshire - May 4, 2005

Jet Cleaners Owner Mike Amore spent the day networking at the new Staples store in Cheshire.

As part of their Grand Opening, Staples invited local businesses to set up tables and show their wares.Twelve businesses participated, and storewide raffles were run each hour on the hour.

"This was a great opportunity to meet other business men and women, as well as shoppers who were at the store and visiting our table. I saw some old friends, and made some new ones, too," said Amore.

All in all, Jet handed out over 150 coupons during the day, and introduced many people to its array of services and updated website.

25 Years and Counting
Jet Cleaners' Carla Esposito Celebrates Milestone

November 20, 2004

For most people, 1979 seems like ages ago, but for Carla Esposito, it seems like yesterday.

"I remember the day Mike and Jim hired me," recalls Esposito, referring to Jet's founders, Mike and Jim Amore. Fast forward to 2004, and she now has 25 years experience in the industry, and works for the next generation owner, Mike Amore Jr.

At the counter, she is a fixture each morning, greeting customers by name, categorizing and tagging their garments. Some customers who may have moved away or changed cleaners, ultimately return to Jet Cleaners, see Carla, and say, "I can't believe you're still here."

She attributes her longevity to the low stress level of the job, the morning hours (she's out by 1:00 most days) and the camaraderie of working and socializing with co-workers. "It is like having fun with friends, talking," said Esposito.

Jet Cleaners was founded in 1956, and is fast approaching its 50th Anniversary. "Who would ever imagine that a 50 year old, third generation family business would have an employee for half of the company's existence?" said Mike Amore Jr., current owner. To celebrate the Anniversary, Jet paid tribute to Carla with a plaque of appreciation. It was presented by Mike Amore Jr. Fittingly, the plaque included a photo of founders, Mike and Jim Amore. Carla's tenure has bridged the gap from father and uncle, to son.

New Haven Advocate - Best Dry Cleaners - 2004

Jet Cleaners Owner Michael Amore

Family owned and operated since 1956, Jet Cleaners, with its plant-filled windows and steady stream of garment-toting customers, is nothing short of a local landmark. How do we know this? Well, for starters, if you are called for jury duty in New Haven and go to the State Judicial Web site for parking directions, it says to park in the surface lot at Audubon and State streets, "near Jet Cleaners." That's pretty neat.

Jet's customers range from university presidents and doctors to custodians, lawyers and everybody in between. And that, says owner Michael Amore, is his favorite customer: "It's the cross-section of everybody."

Jet Cleaners' Carla Esposito Featured in the New Haven Register

October 3, 2003

NEW HAVEN - On any given weekday, Carla Esposito starts her shift at 6:30 a.m. But the 39-year-old Branford resident has no complaints about the early hour.

"There is no stress involved," said Esposito, who works at JET Cleaners on State Street. "I love my job."

She gets off work by 1 p.m.

"The day goes by so fast," said Esposito, adding that her morning shift allows her to spend the entire afternoon on her hobby, cooking.

But the morning shift is not the only reason she likes her job at JET Cleaners. Esposito said she enjoys matching customers' order slips with their garments when they come in to get their clothes.

"It is like having fun with friends, talking," said Esposito, explaining that she can talk to her colleagues while she looks through the freshly washed clothing.

"She is great," said JET owner Michael Amore Jr. "She has a great work ethic. I have learned a lot from her."

Esposito has spent the past 19 years as a full-time worker at JET and has mastered every aspect of the operation, from customer service to pressing to operating dry cleaning equipment.

But when she walked into the shop in 1980, she was still in high school and did not intend to work there full-time.

When she graduated from high school, she tried working at a law firm.

"I hated it. Almost every day I was crying because I did not want to go to work," recalled Esposito. "It was a very boring job."

After two years, she decided to return to JET Cleaners.

"It took me almost five years to learn all of the operation," recalled Esposito. "But I knew I would like it when I came back."

Jet Cleaners Featured in National Clothesline - September 2003

Ask any child what they want to be when they grow up, chances are most won’t say “drycleaner.” Certainly, there are more glamorous occupations to choose from and few other professionals are depicted so unfavorably in the public’s eye.

Of course, drycleaners aren’t the only workers to receive a bad image rap. Nobody is happy to see a financial auditor come to their office. Nobody wants to get a phone call from a loan collector, either. And, even worse, is the job of a baseball umpire who is often the victim of profane-laced insults hurled recklessly by overzealous fans.

New Haven Advocate - Best Dry Cleaners - 2003

Michael Amore's family's memories of New Haven go back to the middle of the last century. He's collecting them in a photo album now along with his daughter, Kristen, a high-school senior, in anticipation of the 50th anniversary (in 2006) of the cleaners his grandfather, father and uncle founded in New Haven.

His own memories begin with trips to East Rock Park with his parents. They brought jugs. They filled them with fresh water before going into the park.

And he remembers Jocko Sullivan's and the Old Heidelberg on Chapel Street. He and his buddies from Hopkins hung out there in high school. "I remember going downtown and being able to bop around and really enjoy the city. There was a lot of hustle-bustle back then. But it's coming back. There's a lot going on."

Now, as his kids get older, Amore, who lives in Cheshire, finds himself returning to downtown New Haven--to the restaurants. "My daughter's boyfriend, his family never goes downtown. When you bring someone to a town who doesn't go there, you see it through fresh eyes. ... You take it for granted when you drive downtown by yourself. When you're with other people who haven't been downtown, you take more pride. Those are fun memories."

-From the May 8, 2003 New Haven Advocate. Also available online at the New Haven Advocate's web site.

Jet Cleaners Cheshire Announces New Full Service Tailoring Service

January 20, 2003

Jet Cleaners of Cheshire recently remodeled to accommodate a full service tailor on duty. The new tailoring area features a changing room and ample area for all types of sewing and repair service.

Our tailor, Poly, is available for fittings

New Haven Advocate - Best Dry Cleaners - 2002

"Clean" and "green" don't often go together, but Jet Cleaners has been steadily modifying how it cleans clothes to minimize its use of potentially harmful chemicals and to give maximum satisfaction to its customers. The business has changed so much in the last two decades that "dry cleaning" is almost a misnomer. Managing Partner Mike Amore says it is "more of a garment servicing center. The big push is for wet cleaning, which is a fancy name for washing. We have moisture-controlled dryers; we have controlled steam. We're not over-drying. The worst thing is over-drying."

The trade-offs aren't easy and sometimes the victories come in small doses, like the decision to simply close the plant on hot summer days to keep the building from overheating.

More traditionally, Jet Cleaners is one of those family-run businesses that excel at old-school customer service. Some of the staff has been with the company for decades, including Manager Carla Esposito (22 years). Amore himself is a third-generation owner, and the business has been around longer than the New York Mets--that is, for 46 years.

The dry cleaning business can, at times, provide a window into our culture, as when Esposito finds items such as a wedding band in a suit pocket. Returned hotel keys, she says, have resulted in ruined marriages. They have found everything from bags of pot and crack cocaine to cash and checks from a local restaurant in clothing brought in to be cleaned.

But when it comes to fame, Esposito doesn't talk about all the tagging and sorting she does at the front desk. Rather, it's her cooking. She is known for making the best mashed potatoes. The "trick," she says, "is mayonnaise."

-From the May 9, 2002 New Haven Advocate. Also available online at the New Haven Advocate's web site.

New Haven Advocate - Best Dry Cleaners - 2001

There's a problem with the term "dry cleaners." "It should be called 'fabric care center' or 'garment service,'" says owner Mike Amore, to include the range of services he offers. The 45-year-old Jet main location on State Street is highly visible, with a huge glass window and the trademark green foliage right near the entrance ramp to I-91. If you're comfortable enough, you can pull right up to the window, leave your car running and grab your pressed linens.

Each day is like a race," says Amore: "We work 'til the work is done."

When a customer brings in a pile of clothes, each item has to go for separate treatment, factory-style, with the ensemble coming together at the end of the line. Amore isn't the first to compare the process to putting together a puzzle.

He says winning the Best of New Haven poll has given "the entire organization a shot in the arm." These days he's thinking about giving the place a facelift and updating the garden. He recently bought a new pump for the "lady with the urn" water fountain.

As the business approaches 50 years, he still loves the place. That's Amore.

-From the New Haven Advocate, 2001. Also available online at the New Haven Advocate's web site.