Puritan Cleaners acquires HandCraft Cleaners

Richmond-based dry cleaners will now have 14 locations

Published September 3, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Richmond-based dry-cleaning business Puritan Cleaners has acquired HandCraft Cleaners, another Richmond-based, family-owned dry-cleaning company, the businesses announced Thursday.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome HandCraft Cleaners’ customers to the Puritan Cleaners family and are honored to have the opportunity to continue to provide them with convenient, superior service and expertise,” Puritan Cleaners President Gary Glover said in a statement. “Our companies share the same values and commitment to the Richmond community.”

Founded in 1970, HandCraft Cleaners operates two locations in the Richmond area as well as a home and office pickup and delivery service. The transaction will combine HandCraft Cleaners’ operations with Puritan Cleaners’ 13 Richmond locations and allow HandCraft Cleaners to “focus on its rapidly expanding health care/medical linen services business,” according to a statement from the companies.

Under the acquisition, Puritan Cleaners will operate the HandCraft Cleaners location at 5705 Patterson Ave. and pickup and delivery service. Customers who use the Bon Air location at 2733 McRae Road will be able to visit nearby Puritan Cleaners locations for service.

“We are proud to have provided the best possible service to the Richmond community for the past 50 years,” HandCraft Cleaners President Jay Nichols said in a statement. “This transaction allows us to focus our time and resources on our healthcare and medical linen business that has expanded throughout the mid-Atlantic/Southeast while ensuring our dry-cleaning customers are well taken care of.”

Founded in 1937, Puritan Cleaners is also involved with community programs including coat drive Coats for Kids (which it has operated since 1988) and Feed More’s food drive 100K Meals.

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