ORINDA, Calif. (KRON) – After 35 years, a beloved small enterprise within the East Bay is closing its doorways. The proprietor of Edelweiss Tailoring and Cleaners in Orinda is retiring to spend extra time with household.
Decked out in art work, puppies and flowers, Edelweiss has been a neighborhood staple in downtown Orinda for greater than three a long time. The identify Edelweiss comes from a flower in Switzerland.
“It means fortunate, so why do not we identify it Edelweiss? That is how the identify got here,” stated proprietor Kilja Kim.
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Kim, now 85, says she realized whereas touring that edelweiss means nobel and white. It’s a excellent identify for a store devoted to customer support and delivering a wonderfully clear and fitted shirt.
However after Friday, the store will shut its doorways for good. Dozens of shoppers have been stopping by leaving thanks playing cards and flowers.
Orinda’s mayor is even giving Kim a certificates of recognition from the town.
“I do not deserve all that, it is an excessive amount of. I simply did my finest for them and so they did a lot for me,” Kim stated.
Kim says she opened the enterprise in Orinda, hoping it might maintain her household within the East Bay, the place she says has at all times felt like residence. She says it was the those who made her really feel particular.
“One buyer stated ‘My child one time saw a lady on the street in Orinda in a jean dress and she ran up to her and gave her a big hug.’ As a result of she thought it was my mother, and it wasn’t, and the kid obtained an enormous fright,” Kim’s daughter Peggy stated.
The woman within the blue jean gown is Kim’s nickname due to her signature type and the heat she pours into each piece of clothes she works on.
“Children, babies, I love them. I love the kids so that’s what makes me happy,” Kim stated.
The store will likely be open from 7 a.m. to five p.m. Friday to say one final goodbye.
