Did You Know…

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

…that there is only one remaining old-fashioned Chinese dry cleaner in San Diego?

Soon Lee Laundry at 1305 C Street in the East Village has withstood the test of time ever since a family from China opened the place in 1948. It launched during an era when Chinese dry cleaners populated many of our neighborhoods and catered to large numbers of sailors stationed here.

According to John Lee Wong, who grew up in the former Wong Lee Laundry in Downtown San Diego, more than 100 Chinese laundries operated throughout the city over the span of a few decades. As their numbers dwindled, LeeWong created a permanent exhibit about the trend for the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum.

Yet outside of the exhibit, a museum-like atmosphere pervades at Soon Lee, beginning with its vintage facade and extending behind the front counter, where you see bundles of clothing and a few antiquated, operable clothing presses. One is specifically used for shirt collars; another is for the shirts’ body sections. The business is seemingly frozen in time, and with prices that average about 30 percent less than most other dry cleaners.