A dry cleaners in Hamilton has a whole new look following a relocation and renovation.

Quality Dry Cleaners moved up the road from the Canadian Hotel to the former Blue Ribbon Cleaners' site in the Vasco da Gama building in Reid Street.

And its owner Steve Thomson has spent $175,000 giving the store a complete makeover.

Since starting his dry cleaning empire with Just Shirts in 1999, Mr. Thomson has overseen the takeover of Hamilton Val Cleaners and Paget Cleaners in 1997, Coral Cleaners and its company Touch of Class in 1998, bought the assets of Blue Ribbon Cleaners in 2008 and Quality Dry Cleaners itself in 2000.

"Over the years a lot of the other dry cleaners have gone out of business and we have, one by one, taken them over," he said.

"We have been at the heart of the community, serving the Government and businesses around town such as Butterfield Bank."

Among some of the big changes customers can expect to see at the new location, which is run by manager Marilyn Ratteray, are a marble-tiled and wooden floor, a new logo adorning the awnings and windows and varnished wood windows and walls decorated with Bermudian prints by photographer Peter Matcham, as well all the state-of-the-art dry cleaning equipment, according to Mr. Thomson.

"It is called re-investing in Hamilton," he said. "We took a substantial loan and we are positive on Bermuda and I believe over the next decade we will make it back easily."

The store is open between 7.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day, with good customer service the secret to Mr. Thomson's success.

"I believe the secret to our success is to work hard, open for long hours, price fairly and, above all, have friendly staff, and make sure you do a good job," he said.

Other incentives for client loyalty include a 10 percent discount for pre-payers, while the store is also running a competition with $1,000 worth of dry cleaning up for grabs.

Mr. Thomson, who is Bermudian, started out in the dry cleaning industry with Four Seasons Hotels in Toronto, Canada and San Francisco and New Beach – south of Los Angeles in the US, before moving back to Bermuda and taking on the laundry and housekeeping department at the Elbow Beach Hotel.

He saw a niche in the market for getting shirts laundered and set up his own business and the rest, as they say, is history.