to buy into our changes and philoso- phy, going forward.We ended up losing some stores along the way; we knew that was going to happen. But we were going to get very serious about inspec- tions and going in the direction we wanted to go. I am a freak about stores being in impeccable condition.” So, even though the store count dropped from about 300 licensed units to its current level of 200 franchises, Godfrey says that they’re actually taking in more revenue. “We’re charging a five percent royalty on these new stores and we’ve got people who are willing to step up and pay it,” he states. “And those people are going to have a hundred percent of my attention going forward.” Godfrey adds that Comet Cleaners is still trying to improve its brand, just like his father did back in 1994, when the industry moved from the use of Perchlorethylene as a cleaning solvent to a new hydrocarbon-based one, developed by the Exxon Corpo- ration. “He took that new solvent to the manufacturer of our dry cleaning machines and showed them how to try and remake the machines,” he recounts. “And, honestly, I would not go back to Perchlorethylene, because the petro- leum-based solvent is the best solvent to this day for dry cleaning. And that’s what I use in all my stores. It gets the COMET CLEANERS PREFERRED VENDOR n Forenta www.forentausa.com clothes pressed much better; they finish much better. And it’s really excellent for the silks and linens and wools. I wouldn’t go back to Per- chlorethylene for all the tea in China – it’s real harsh on the garments and it doesn’t preserve them like the petroleum-based solvent does.” In addition, Comet Cleaners is still expanding - it just opened ten new stores in the San An- tonio, Texas area. “We’re going to keep moving forward, and I’m very involved in the start-up of every location,” Godfrey says. “We’ve got some very good strategic partners that we work with. The manufacturer of the drycleaning pressing machines is the same company we were using back in the ‘50s and they still have the best pressing machines in the industry; I’ve got a really good franchise consultant that I’ve been working with for the last ten years and he’s taught me a lot.” So, there seems to be nothing stopping this almost 100-year-old business from continuing to thrive. “I believe wholeheartedly in the dry cleaning business,” Godfrey declares. “And fran- chising is a great way for businesses to expand and the best way to put in multiple locations throughout the world. I think it’s the only way to go. The business has an awesome future but only if you’re going to run it very professionally. So, we’re trying to build a world-class organi- zation.We’re not trying to say we know every- thing, but we know enough to go down that road.”