Pride Cleaners’ Iconic Chatham Home Closes This Weekend as Future of 1959 Googie Landmark Remains Uncertain

Overview

• Store managers say Saturday is the last day of service, with employees staying two weeks only to return finished orders and no new orders accepted.
• Out-of-state owners took over in July 2025 and renamed the business Family Strongfold, while the mortgage note remains with longtime owner Greg Ehman and his brother.
• Ehman says he will try to find a new owner, and Ald. William Hall prefers securing a viable reuse before any formal landmark bid.
• Preservation advocates highlight the building’s rare midcentury design, including its self-supporting hyperbolic paraboloid roof and neon sign seen in Ali and a 2025 Chance the Rapper video.
• Workers say the owners cited financial pressures for closing, the site lacks city landmark status, and customers can still pick up completed items over the next two weeks.