Competition Too Much for Landmark
Pullman Colonial cleaners and laundry has been an institution on 16th Street between G and Market streets since 1945. For 48 years before that, it was known as San Diego Laundry, and it, too, was an institution.
But on Monday, Pullman Colonial returned its last stitch of cleaned clothing to a loyal customer, the victim, its owner claimed, of competition from smaller, independent laundries and dry-cleaning shops.
“It’s a shame, but it’s a sign of the times,” lamented owner Robert Hart, who also owns American Linen Supply, American Uniform & Towel, and American Hotel & Hospital Service.
“We can’t compete with the smaller cleaners,” Hart said. “Many of them are Vietnamese and Korean people who live in the shop and work all day and all night. It’s an interesting phenomenon.”
In the 1950s, there were at least seven large laundry and dry-cleaning plants in San Diego, many of them offering home delivery service, Hart said. “But after all these years,” he said, “we find that the public is better served by small independent people who operate their own shops.”
At its peak, Pullman Colonial employed about 100 people--its work force for the last 25 years. Earlier this year, in anticipation of closing, Hart pared the labor force to 60. Most of those people will be placed in Hart’s other companies, he said.
Dierdorff’s Fighting Back
There were some who were surprised last week when ousted Sun Savings & Loan Chairman Dan Dierdorff filed a $30-million countersuit against Sun, in which he denied Sun’s allegations of fraud and mismanagement and claimed that the company conducted a “campaign” to discredit him.
But longtime Dierdorff watchers weren’t surprised in the least; in fact, they had expected the action.
Dierdorff, a member of the San Diego State University wrestling team in the early 1960s, has a business reputation as a fighter, one who “doesn’t get mad, but gets even,” according to one former associate. After months of reading newspaper stories about his alleged wrongdoing, Dierdorff’s Superior Court filings were a legal way for him to speak out and fight back, the associate said.
Hotel Wheelings and Dealings
Fabulous Inns of America, the small but profitable hotel company, has secured a 30-day extension on its option to buy the 22-acre Stardust Hotel site in Mission Valley and take over the remaining nine-year lease on the adjacent golf course.
The golf course is the site of a proposed $750-million development by Chevron Land & Development Co. Total price tag for the Stardust property: $20 million.
The deal is slowed, according to industry sources, because of the still-pending legal action over control of Fabulous Inns that has embroiled the Mission Valley hotel company since mid-1984. . . .
Nick Sylvester spent about three weeks at Chase Simpson advertising and public relations agency before he realized that “agency work isn’t for me.”
But he didn’t spend much time unemployed. He has been hired at the job he quit when he joined Chase Simpson--director of public relations and advertising at the Radisson Hotel in Mission Valley.
Polak’s Leadership Will Be Missed
In a meeting of corporate executives, veteran United Way volunteer Ben Polak seemed to stand out. While the executives tended toward the formal and traditional attire, Polak always looked as if he had just stepped off a golf course.
But Polak, who died Friday after a short bout with cancer, was never out of his league. Not only did Polak, who owned a family-run real estate management and construction firm, have the respect of fellow United Way volunteers--white- and blue-collared alike--he also was looked to for his leadership.
As president of United Way from mid-1983 to last June, Polak helped usher in the post-Reaganomic realities of fund raising for nonprofit organizations.
“He always did his homework,” remembered Jim Greene, United Way’s executive director. “He got along with the corporate executives because of that, but he also had the respect of everyone in the community--business, labor and the agencies.”
United Way has established a Ben Polak Memorial Fund, with proceeds likely to be used to help finance community agencies.
Fast-Growing Companies Recognized
Seven San Diego County businesses show up in Inc. magazine’s survey of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the country. They are: Xscribe in La Jolla (No. 17), Allenbach Industries in Carlsbad (37), Vista Technology in San Marcos (56), San Diego Design in Santee (71), Watkins Manufacturing in Carlsbad (150), Western Pacific Data Systems in San Diego (257)and Creative Business Systems in San Diego (420).
