Alterations Anyone?

May 17th marked the 36th anniversary of Mt Kisco Tailor and Cleaners located at 337 East Main St. in Kisco.

It’s a Mom and Pop store that is filled with old world charm. The shop is owned by Dick
and Joann Cambareri.

Their daughter Maria also works there, she does a little bit of everything from the books to manning the counter. It is truly a family affair.

In all the years I have lived in Kisco I have never been in the shop. I had a pair of dress pants and jeans that needed to be hemmed but didn’t know where to go, so I asked around and was told to take them to Mt Kisco Tailor. I was greeted by Maria who after hearing what I needed referred me to her mom Joann. She made the necessary markings on the pants and told me to come back in a few days. When I got the pants I was very happy, the workmanship was superb. I asked them if I could do a story about them and they gladly agreed.
Dick and Joann learned their trade in Italy. They both immigrated here and settled in Kisco (Dick came first in 1954 and Joann later in 1967). Joann started out working in her house and did a lot of work for local stores like Smilksteins, Lad and Dad and Citizen Vain (those of you that have been around for a while will remember these stores) and Dick worked in some clothing factories in Westchester County. It
wasn’t long before Joann told her husband that she wanted her own shop. He told her she was crazy – she couldn’t even speak a word of English how could she run a shop!

Today I am happy to report that Joann’s shop and her English are perfect! I will definitely be taking more clothes to them to be properly altered. The days of using tape to hold up my hem are gone. While I was trying to do my interview we were often interrupted by patrons coming in to drop off their dry cleaning and garments to be altered. Joann told me that this is a very busy time with weddings and proms.

Jill Monahan and her daughter Danielle came down from Yorktown to have a dress altered for Danielle’s prom. Jill told me that she has been coming here for the past five years. Her daughter needed a dress altered for a Bat Mitzvah and a friend recommended this shop. I asked why she comes all the way to Kisco to get her clothes altered and she said that there are no places that do this kind of quality work in Yorktown.

Another customer named Jodi Sutton told me that she has been coming to the shop for 25 years. When asked what she likes about the shop she said that she can “bring anything to them to alter from
leather to prom dresses and they get it right the first time”. She also told me that they have never lost a single article of hers in the past 25 years (Now that is a record to be proud of). Jodi smiled as she
recounted a story about how she forgot that she had a wedding to attend and ran out the morning of to get a dress. Of course the dress needed to be altered and she ran to Joann and begged her to fix the
dress – well you guessed it the dress was done in two hours – now that’s service!

Paul and Wendy Margolies have been customers for the past 20 years. They remember when the store was located where Marcellas Pizza is now. Paul said coming to the shop is “like coming to be with
family”. He said “no matter what size we have been over the years they manage to make our clothes fit”.
That seems to be the general sentiment from the folks I spoke with- If you want to feel like you’re with family and you are looking to get your clothes professionally altered then consider going to Mt.
Kisco tailors and cleaners. They are open Mon – Fri 8:00 to 6:00 – Saturday from 8:00 to 4:00 and they are closed on Sundays. Their phone number is 914-666-7017.