Sewing path to success

BOUNCING BACK: Ruben D. Ogando, owner of Reymond's Brother Tailor Shop and Laundromat LLC, and his wife, Alba Baez, arrange clothes in the laundromat. Having outgrown his initial space, the laundromat is now located across from his tailoring shop on Cranston Street in Providence. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
BOUNCING BACK: Ruben D. Ogando, owner of Reymond's Brother Tailor Shop and Laundromat LLC, and his wife, Alba Baez, arrange clothes in the laundromat. Having outgrown his initial space, the laundromat is now located across from his tailoring shop on Cranston Street in Providence. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Ruben D. Ogando and his brother Reymond were born in the Dominican Republic, where their mother made them learn to tailor growing up.

Thirty-three years ago, Reymond started a tailoring and laundromat company in Providence. Ruben, who first worked in New York, moved to New England about 18 years ago to work for a private tailor.

But then in 2009, Reymond, a Dominican activist who helped several immigrants settle in Rhode Island, died unexpectedly.

Ruben Ogando, who wanted to see his brother’s legacy and work continue, took over the business and named it Reymond’s Brother Tailor Shop and Laundromat LLC.

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“Tailoring has been my job for all my life,” Ogando explained, when asked why he took over his brother’s business. “When you do something and you do a good job, you feel good.”

The business, which slipped for a while, has bounced back. In December, it became the first-ever to receive a small-business loan through R.I. Commerce Corp.’s new small-business assistance program.

The company, originally located at 211 Cranston St. in Providence, received $100,000, funded and backed partly by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Commerce and the Community Investment Corp., a Connecticut-based community-development corporation.

The funding allowed Ogando to expand his business into a second space across the street, dividing his laundromat services from his tailoring operations.

“I had no room,” he said. “It was too tight.”

The new space at 202 Cranston St. has wooden floors, racks of suits and other clothes hanging up in plastic bags, ready for pickup. A golden sign with the company’s name hangs prominently beside the front desk.

What began as a one-man operation has grown to employ nine people. Ogando’s wife, Alba Baez, also works part time when she’s not busy with her other job working at a hospital. The couple would like to continue to grow the business to employ 20 people in the future.

Reymond’s Brother contracts with a few laundromats and cleaners, including Copa Menswear at 104 Reservoir Ave. The deals bring in about 40-50 suits each day, Ogando said, which his team turns around, along with whatever comes in from regulars and walk-in customers.

The laundromat side of the business provides pick-up and drop-off services and door-to-door services. The business is open every day of the year.

“People are really starting to come back and support the business,” he said.

Ogando looks at the business he’s grown today and he’s proud. He hopes other immigrants will see his success and believe it’s possible to own and run a good business in Rhode Island.

“Everything is possible for immigrants and minorities,” he said. “I’m proof we can do it.” •

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