Historical Facts
Two brothers started Careful Hand Laundry & Dry Cleaners in 1929. Jack
and Alex Shindman got help from their family in Chicago who already
operated laundry and dry cleaning businesses. They would take their
customers laundry to a nearby laundry plant for washing and returned it
to their store at 152 Avenue Road, where they had a number of staff who
hand ironed the shirts, linens, and valet items for their customers.
In the 1950’s and as the business grew, they acquired the building next
door and added their own laundry equipment and processed everything on
the premises. As well, they acquired a dry cleaning plant in the west
end of the city, which they operated themselves for many years.
In 1960, Sidney Chelsky joined the firm and subsequently married Brenda
Shindman in 1961. Sidney and Brenda purchased the assets of the company
in 1970 and began modernizing the plant with new equipment and methods,
as well as starting a new dry cleaning plant back to the 152 Avenue Road
location so that they could have complete quality control of the
operation. The company outgrew its' premises and moved in 1985 to 120
Tycos Drive in North York. By 1987, the company was producing retail,
commercial and valet work for many of the leading hotels in the city.
In order to protect the quality and service standards, which the company
is famous for, in 1995, it divested itself of the commercial operations
and opened a modern, state of the art, retail dry cleaning plant at 195
Davenport Road around the corner from where the company first started.
In 1996, Brian and his brother purchased the company from their parents.
Then a few years later, Risa, Brian’s wife purchased the remaining
shares from Brian’s brother. Brian represents the third generation of
the family business.
When the lease ended in 2005, the plant moved to its new location at
2700 Dufferin Street. It was bigger and more modern than the Davenport
location. The American Dry Cleaner magazine awarded Careful Hand Laundry
& Dry Cleaners, a plant design award for "Best Build Out." Very few
Canadians have received this award.
The remaining depot at 195 Davenport Road moved to a new location at 206
Dupont Street east of the LCBO at Huron Street. We expect great
achievements from this location in years to come.
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