Andrea Markey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 02/05) - Dominic Cousineau hitchhiked to Yellowknife with $5 in his pocket seven years ago after tree-planting on Vancouver Island. He came to the North to learn English.

Not only did he do that, he also learned how to operate a drycleaning businesses. Cousineau opened Diamond Drycleaners on Sept. 26 on Woolgar Avenue with his wife, Candace.

While attending flights for First Air, Cousineau realized a two-week turnaround time for drycleaned pants didn't do him any good when he needed his uniform for work.

"I was thinking about what I could do - maybe a coffee shop," he said. "And then I did some research on drycleaning businesses and it was positive."

He found the average household in Canada spends $154 per year on drycleaning.

"Because Yellowknife isn't really a drycleaning town, I estimated it to be $100 per year," he said.

Although the average person in Yellowknife may not dryclean as much as someone in a more urban centre, Cousineau still felt the capital could do with more than one such operation.

With that decision made, he just needed a space.

In July, after two weeks of searching, he found his Woolgar Avenue location, a former laundromat. The pipes and drains were already installed, saving him between $30,000 and $40,000.

"I signed right away," he said.

He spent August and September in Winnipeg and Leduc, Alta., learning the skills needed to operate his new $75,000 machine.

The Generation 5 drycleaner is the top of the line and meets the highest safety and environmental standards, he said.

The chemicals used in the process are recycled by intensive filters at the back of the front-loading machine, resulting in less waste than older models, he said.

This time of year parkas fill the shop's racks.

"If people wear them a lot, they should be cleaned once a year," he said. "Some people think $36 is a lot for cleaning, but these parkas cost between $600 and $800. It pays to protect them."

Duvets are something many people don't think about cleaning as much as they should, he said.

"They should be cleaned at least twice per season," he said. "We sweat and bacteria grows."

The care instructions on manufacturers tags on clothing should be followed 95 per cent of the time, he said.

Cousineau, who works at the shop full-time, has one full-time staffer and another part-timer. He has a drop-off location at Thanh Dat Clothing and Gifts in Centre Square Mall. Together, the team strives for a turnaround time of 48 hours. So far, many items are returned in 24 hours.