Kean’s the Cleaner moves back to its
downtown roots
When a cleaners is over 100 years old,
chances are it’ll have to move to a different location
from time to time. For Kean’s the
Cleaner in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, the company’s most recent move means a return
to old familiar territory.
Following a 20-year absence from the
downtown area, plans are now underway for Kean’s to
return to its roots, according to plant owners Rock and Missy
Rockenbaugh.
Previously, the business’s drop off
and pick up service store, located in Beauregard Town, closed
in the 1980s.
“The resurgence of downtown Baton
Rouge is impressive,” Rockenbaugh said.
“We’ve been watching the progress on the Capitol
Park complex and the relocation of professionals like
architects and engineers to the downtown area, and those are
our customers. We need to be where they are so we can provide
the convenience of service close to their offices.”
The company, founded in 1900, originally
operated on Government Street during its first six years before
it was deposited onto the busy downtown area on Third St.
between 1906 and 1924. The prime site would later house the
first Piccadilly Cafeteria in 1944.
In the mid-1920s, Kean’s was forced
to relocate once again, this time as the result of a fire.
The new downtown Kean’s building
will be located at 842 Main Street at the corner of North 9th
Street and Main. It is expected to be open for business at the
beginning of July.
Now that the cleaners is returning back to
downtown, it will also bring along a large piece of its history
— a two-story tall sign is being transported from the
Kean’s Convention Street plant. The sign has been a
landmark in the same spot for over 80 years, but it will
undergo a bit of a face lift, including a color change to
Kean’s modern day colors of red, white and blue.
“It’s very
retro-looking,” said Rockenbaugh. “It’s sort
of like the Coca-Cola sign on Florida and Third, and we thought
it was a nice symbol of the history of Kean’s.”
Once the move is finalized, the new
downtown site will be the 23rd location in the Kean’s
group of drycleaners. Recently, the company purchased two
locations of NuFrontier Cleaners of Central from former owner
Vairie Barousse. The stores are located at 10953 Joor Rd. and
11535 Sullivan Road in Baton Rouge.
The Rockenbaughs, who have lived in the
Baton Rouge area for 17 years, purchased the cleaners in April
of last year from Frank Kean. Prior to the sale, Rock
Rockenbaugh, a CPA, was a managing partner of the business for
15 months. Before that, he had spent most of his professional
career in accounting and finance for various industries in
Louisiana including construction, manufacturing, sales and
health care.
The company’s official web site it
located at www.keans.com.
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