A sign taped to the front door of Roberta Cleaners, a longtime Slidell business. The City Council condemned the building last month and ordered that it be demolished by March 26.
Roberta Cleaners on Front Street in Slidell, photographed Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, has received a condemnation notice from a city building inspector. (Photo by Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
A sign taped to the front door of Roberta Cleaners, a longtime Slidell business. The City Council condemned the building last month and ordered that it be demolished by March 26.
A well-known Olde Towne Slidell business now has a date with a bulldozer.
Roberta Cleaners Inc., long a fixture at the busy intersection of Front and Bouscaren streets, was ordered demolished by the Slidell City Council last month, ending any chances of having the building repaired and reopened.
“After 59 years of serving the Slidell community we have decided to close our doors as of December 30, 2023,” a sign taped to the glass doors of the building said, thanking customers for their support over five decades.
Citing the condition of the building, the Slidell City Council on Jan. 23 voted to condemn the structure and gave the owners until March 26 to have it torn down. If it does not meet that deadline, the city will have the building demolished and bill the owners.
Roberta Cleaners on Front Street in Slidell, photographed Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, has received a condemnation notice from a city building inspector. (Photo by Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
The council’s vote came after the city had granted extensions to one of the owners, Kim Schroeder, who asked for more time to either repair the building or find a buyer for it. Council member Leslie Denham, in whose district the business sits, told Schroeder that the council wouldn’t grant another extension.
“My good faith has been destroyed,” Denham said, indicating that previous extensions had come and gone.
Schroeder told the council that one potential buyer had backed out of a deal for the site at 2062 Front Street, but that others have shown interest. Per the council’s demolition order, the building will have to come down no matter who owns the property.
A city building official told the council that the structure suffers myriad problems, including rot, termite damage and electrical deficiencies and that the owners hadn’t sought any building permits to make repairs.
Schroeder told the council that he and his family no longer had any intention to try and repair the structure.
Schroeder couldn’t be reached for comment this week, but last August told a reporter his family purchased the business in 1965. Schroeder said the previous owner had named it for his daughter, Roberta, and his family decided to keep the name.
Over the decades, the business managed to remain operational through hurricanes and the pandemic, Schroeder told a reporter.
“It’s amazing I even have the doors open today,” he said.
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Longtime Slidell business faces date with demolition equipment – NOLA.com
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