Zipper Hospital In the news
BROOKLINE TAB - When Knara Tokatlyan bought Richman’s Zipper Hospital 20 years ago, it was a small tailor shop that specialized in fixing zippers on dresses, jackets and pants.
Tokatlyan said she’s still known for fixing zippers, but now she repairs the zippers on everything from bullet-proof vests to covers on convertible sports cars and even MRI machines.
“It’s a very unique business,” said Tokatlyan, who lives in Watertown. “ We fix just about anything.”
Tokatlyan’s store, in the Coolidge Corner Arcade and a Brookline institution since 1947, is one of a handful of Brookline businesses that seem to be holdovers from a different era, when neighbors shopped at the corner store and most appliances could last a lifetime with just a few repairs.
Tokatlyan said she’s not just surviving; she’s getting ready to re-launch the Zipper Hospital with a new name, new services and new space.
Tokatlyan has kept business moving by expanding the services available in her tiny shop. Today, she does alterations, re-upholstery, dry cleaning and, of course, zipper repair.
“More of everything,” she said. “You can’t imagine what we’ve done over the years.”
The Zipper Hospital has been in Brookline since 1947, when the owner moved it into the Arcade Building from Dorchester.
Tokatlyan said she’s still known for fixing zippers, but now she repairs the zippers on everything from bullet-proof vests to covers on convertible sports cars and even MRI machines.
“It’s a very unique business,” said Tokatlyan, who lives in Watertown. “ We fix just about anything.”
Tokatlyan’s store, in the Coolidge Corner Arcade and a Brookline institution since 1947, is one of a handful of Brookline businesses that seem to be holdovers from a different era, when neighbors shopped at the corner store and most appliances could last a lifetime with just a few repairs.
Tokatlyan said she’s not just surviving; she’s getting ready to re-launch the Zipper Hospital with a new name, new services and new space.
Tokatlyan has kept business moving by expanding the services available in her tiny shop. Today, she does alterations, re-upholstery, dry cleaning and, of course, zipper repair.
“More of everything,” she said. “You can’t imagine what we’ve done over the years.”
The Zipper Hospital has been in Brookline since 1947, when the owner moved it into the Arcade Building from Dorchester.
