Friends co-own Hancock businesses

June 11, 1998|By TERRY TALBERT

In the past two months two women have opened two businesses side by side in Hancock.

Friends Denise Clark and Dory Pelayl, both of Everett, Pa., own D & D's Place used clothing consignment shop at 136 W. Main St. and Hancock Family Cleaners next door. Clark said the two have been friends for seven years.

The clothing shop, which sells used clothing for children and adults, opened June 1. The dry-cleaning shop opened on May 1.

Clark makes the 30-minute drive from Everett to the Hancock stores daily, while Pelayl runs the main dry-cleaning shop in Everett. Clothes brought in to Hancock Family Cleaners are taken to Everett for cleaning and then returned for pickup, Clark said.

The Everett dry-cleaning business has been in Pelayl's family since the 1940s, Clark said.

Clark, 45, is married and the mother of two. Her son Matthew works at the Hancock stores, along with three other Everett residents.

Clark said the road to Hancock was a long one that began when she and her husband moved from her native New Jersey to Everett to raise their children in a quieter area.

She said Pelayl, 50, grew up in Everett but left after graduation to go to the West Coast, where she ended up working as vice president of an insurance company. She came home several years ago.

The two women met at a Wal-Mart store where they both got a job after settling in Everett. "We started walking together," Clark said. "That's how our friendship began."

Clark ended up involved in the cleaning business with Pelayl. That led to their partnership in the Hancock shops.

Why Hancock? Clark said a Hancock official heard about their business and encouraged them to come to the town.

They took him up on it, and so far Clark said it's turned out to be a profitable decision. "Business at both stores has been good so far - surprisingly good," she said.

Clark said both stores are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

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