Vermont Cleaners Struggles During Retrofit

Vermont Cleaners, located at 600 Vermont Street, has been in Benson Xu’s family since 1986. The business has survived an earthquake, recessions, and multiple robberies.  Now as the building in which it’s housed is being seismically retrofitted, the venture faces an uncertain future. 

Built in 1917, the almost 10,000 square feet multi-family building is being renovated to bring it up to code. The structure is being fortified with steel, shear walls, and extra concrete footings. 

“I wish the City was more practical,” said the landlord, Roque Fernandes. “Potrero Hill is on a rock, it’s solid, but the building still needs to be brought up to today’s code.” 

The retrofit includes installing a handicapped toilet in Vermont Cleaners, which’ll reduce the usable space from 650 square feet to 450 square feet to create a widened aisle that can accommodate a wheelchair, a requirement for commercial spaces. After the alteration, Xu worries his rent will increase, though Fernandes said he’ll be reasonable. 

“I’ve always been more than fair to Benson, and I want to see him stay there,” he said. “[Vermont Cleaners] is his livelihood and I’m conscientious about that.”

The retrofit is slated to take a few months, but it could be longer as the construction workers juggle other jobs. Add to that the step-by-step process involved in the renovation, such as the need for inspections before concrete is poured, and time adds up. In the meantime, Vermont Cleaners isn’t generating any income.

“We’re completely shut down,” Xu said. “The water, gas, electricity, everything has to be cut and all the clothes were moved to the storage room.” 

Even though the business is closed, Xu is at the shop every day at 7 a.m. to open the doors for construction workers. He’s even pitching in; moving dirt to the dumpster, distributing tools, and lifting materials. He hopes that by helping the work will go faster.

“I provide them coffee and lunch every day, which is around $1,500 to $2,000 out of my pocket every month,” he said. “I saw them working hard and some of them get really tired. They drink Red Bull for energy, so I went to Costco to buy them a case. It’s not easy. Whatever they need, I get it for them. If their fingers are bleeding, I find them Band-Aids. If I don’t, they use napkins and wrap them around with a rubber band.”  

Xu, who lives in a four-bedroom townhouse in Daly City, said he’s not sleeping well because he’s so anxious. He and his family are living off savings. He has four children; two of them in college, one about to enter 11th grade, the other going into third grade. In addition, new immigrants from China with whom his wife is related depend on Xu to help them get jobs and settle into San Francisco. 

“They only pay a little utility money to me,” he said. “All of the money I give to them is out of my pocket and sometimes I have 16 people living with my family. It’s a lot of pressure and life is tough.” 

Despite the challenges, Xu wants to stay at Vermont Street. If he moved the business to another location his customers might not follow. He’d have to start from scratch, which’d be worse than the significant loss of customers he expects when he reopens.

“It’s only the lawyers I’ll have left,” he said, because they’re the most loyal and need dry cleaning regularly. 

Xu also wants to stay on Vermont Street because he likes the neighborhood. 

“In this neighborhood, we know everyone, and they know us. We’re just like a family, and we like that,” he said. “I hope neighbors will support us when we get our business back and I hope for the best.”