Home Subscriber Only Business Women A spotless reputation

A spotless reputation

By

Sarah Francis

-

05/23/2025

CLEANING UP: Debbie Martitz took over ownership of the family business, Hope Cleaners in East Providence, in 2005.  PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Business Women Awards 2025 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Debbie Martitz, Hope Cleaners owner AFTER 57 YEARS in the family’s dry-cleaning business, Debbie Martitz received some unusual requests. For example: Can you dry clean a bra? Yes. How about sneakers? Um, no. Then there was the time when she was in high school when a customer came into

Already a Subscriber? Log in

To Continue Reading This Article

Become a Providence Business News subscriber and get immediate access to all of our premier content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Critical RI business news and analysis updated daily.
1 year of print (26 issues).
Unlimited access to all subscriber only content on our website, on any device.
Free email alerts.
Annual Book of Lists Print Edition.
All special issues produced during subscription term.

Click Here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article

PBN Branded Content

Everyone needs science. Science needs everyone.

The Amgen Foundation is guided by the belief that all students should have the opportunity…

Learn More

No posts to display

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Business Women Awards 2025 ACHIEVEMENT HONOREE: Debbie Martitz, Hope Cleaners owner

AFTER 57 YEARS in the family’s dry-cleaning business, Debbie Martitz received some unusual requests. For example: Can you dry clean a bra? Yes. How about sneakers? Um, no. Then there was the time when she was in high school when a customer came into the business after a car accident. Depending on how you do the math, that beginning date ranges from 2005, when she took over Hope Cleaners, to as far back as 1967, when she started working for her grandparents. Based in East Providence, Hope Cleaners has been in the family since her grandfather, Warren Luther, launched it in 1930 at the dawn of the Great Depression. Since Hope moved to its red-brick outpost on a busy stretch of Warren Avenue, it has been a local landmark with its clientele. Some have been using Hope’s services for 60 years, traveling from across the state. One East Greenwich customer told Martitz, “Debbie, I must really love you because since the Washington Bridge closure, the traffic has been terrible.” Travel from the West Bay is easier now, she said, after more travel lanes opened. Martitz grew up in East Providence’s Riverside section and graduated from East Providence High School in 1972 but skipped college. Working for her father, Paul Luther, wasn’t always easy for Martitz. “My dad fired me. I’d been bagging the clothes and he started yelling. My mom begged me to come back,” Martitz said. She eventually took over the company in 2005. While still operating as Hope Cleaners, the corporate name of the business is now Debbie Luther Martitz Inc. Martitz works solo behind the counter, greeting customers and brushing and de-pilling sweaters. “I can take a mess and make it look brand-new,” she said. Martitz’s commitment has been recognized. In 2023, Hope Cleaners was named Family-Owned Small Business of the Year in Rhode Island by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Martitz and 12 other local small companies and owners were feted at an awards luncheon. “I was on cloud nine at the lunch,” she said. “I was waving to everyone like I was on a parade float.”