Regina Business Closes After 90 Years in Community

Regina's downtown has lost a long-standing fixture with the closure of Bregg Cleaners & Tailors after 90 years of service. Known for its classic red signs and white storefront, the business near Albert Street and Victoria Avenue was a staple for generations of locals seeking dry cleaning, wedding dress preservation, tailoring, and fur storage. Monday marked the final day for receiving customer orders.

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I mean, there used to be well over 20 cleaners in Regina when I started working here and now I think we’re down to four or five, so I think that says it all.

Chris Thorsteinson, the manager whose father purchased the property in 1988, noted that business records trace the establishment back to the 1930s. This makes Bregg Cleaners likely the oldest continuously operated dry cleaner in Saskatchewan. Thorsteinson began working at the shop at age 11, alongside his grandparents, recalling it as a place with a strong sense of community, where his grandmother would prepare lunch for him.

However, Thorsteinson explained that the business landscape has changed dramatically, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. "I mean, there used to be well over 20 cleaners in Regina when I started working here and now I think we’re down to four or five, so I think that says it all," he stated. He attributes the decline to shifting consumer habits, with people spending less on clothing care than in the past.

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It was kind of like another sense of community having the family there too. You’d come to work and grandma would be making lunch and then we’d sit down and have lunch and I enjoyed it.

Thorsteinson said he will miss the generations of customers and his colleagues the most. He attributed the business's longevity to "just our quality of work. We tried to put out a good product for a decent price. We always tried to get everything done on time, and it wasn’t really any rocket science, I don’t think. It was just hard work and treating people properly."

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I think it was just our quality of work. We tried to put out a good product for a decent price. We always tried to get everything done on time, and it wasn’t really any rocket science, I don’t think. It was just hard work and treating people properly.