Drycleaners on Selby Avenue in St. Paul in September 2023. (Frederick Melo / Pioneer Press)

It’s taken weeks, but the mystery of a shuttered St. Paul laundry service that left dozens of customers high and dry — so to speak — has been solved.

Irvin Brewin has been getting his clothes pressed at E&J Drycleaners on the 600 block of Selby Avenue since before he shipped out for Vietnam as a young man of about 20, when the shop bore a different name. Brewin, now 76, no longer lives in the Selby-Dale area, but he still drives in from his Inver Grove Heights home for what he’s long considered reliable service from one of Minnesota’s oldest Black-owned stores, known for its community work.

For three weeks, his loyalty was tested, however. A handwritten sign in the storefront informed patrons that an unidentified creature was running amok, and their dry cleaning would not be available that day: “For the safety of staff and customers we will be closed today due to a critter that has entered the building. Animal Control will be removing ASAP! Sorry for the inconvenience.”

The sign went up in mid-August. As of Monday, it was still there, and the shop had yet to reopen.

Brewin, tired of driving back and forth from Inver Grove Heights, wanted his eight garments, and he was in touch with other concerned patrons.

Then, on Monday, following any number of phone calls exchanged with fellow customers, as well as state and local regulatory agencies, Brewin finally caught up with owner Terry Beasley face-to-face at E&J.

And that’s when his heart softened. Terry, son of longtime proprietor James Beasley, informed him his 80-year-old father had died in February. Another close relative had entered hospice care. And Terry himself had faced some health issues that had landed him in the hospital.

“I like Terry,” said Brewin, who recalled his fast-talking friend explaining the ordeal in a wave of details.

Rondo Community Land Trust

There was another legal wrinkle. Terry no longer technically owned the shop. Shortly before his passing, James Beasley had sought to keep the store in the hands of Black owners through a sale to the Rondo Community Land Trust, a Selby Avenue organization that has sought to preserve affordable housing and local ownership in the historically-Black Rondo neighborhood. He died before the sale could be finalized, landing the matter in probate court.

The land trust, operated by executive director Mikeya Griffin and overseen by a board of directors, recently purchased the Golden Thyme Coffee and Cafe on Selby Avenue from retiring proprietors Mychael and Stephanie Wright. Griffin said the goal was to parlay the coffee shop’s respected name to market additional incubator spaces and pop-up vendors in historically-Black areas, keeping Golden Thyme and its “Golden Thyme Presents” offshoots afloat through short- and long-term leases.

“We are working to continue to preserve legacy businesses in the community, and revitalize businesses in the community,” said Griffin on Monday.

Griffin was equally eager to buy E&J from James Beasley, though she acknowledged that the land trust had little interest in running a drycleaners. She said redevelopment plans for the space would be made public in due time, but the sale had only just gone through, giving Terry 60 days to clear out the premises. Most customers, she acknowledged, want their garments a lot sooner than that.

Garment pickup

After speaking with Terry, Griffin this week said he’ll keep the shop open Monday through Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for garment pick-up only through Sept. 27.

Griffin noted the Beasleys, longtime members of Mt. Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, have long contributed to the Selby-Dale area, hiring local workers, offering internships and sponsoring student tours of historically Black colleges.

“The Beasleys have owned that property for 40 years,” said Griffin, who once received a college scholarship from the family. “We will make sure that the business is open and people can come and get their laundry. I’ll fix it.”

As far as Brewin is concerned, he’s a satisfied customer wearing freshly-pressed clothes.

Over the course of three weeks, “I drove over a few times,” recalled Brewin, after finally being reunited with his garments on Monday morning. “I was really upset. I called the Department of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. … (But now) I want to give him a chance to get people their clothes.”