Partner Content: Avon Cleaners – A Gleaming American Dream Story
In 1968, a true American dream story began to take shape in Dallas.
When Karoly Godo and his wife, Pat, purchased Avon Cleaners, they hoped to display the craftsmanship Karoly had learned in his native Hungary. First landing in New York City in 1956, during the Hungarian Revolution, Karoly heard the call to “go west young man,” and headed to Texas. When he arrived in the Lonestar State, he was not met with the cowboys and horses he’d seen in films. Instead, he met Pat, an East Texas gal, and married her in 1960.
This newly minted couple worked at American Bakery for a time. Pat was a plant controller, and Karoly was a route manager. On his route one day, Karoly saw a “For Sale” sign in the Avon Cleaners window. And so he began to write his American dream story, his entrepreneurial spirit finally engaged.
After introductions and an apprenticeship, the Godos bought the business. Pat joined full time in 1978, hoping to help her husband’s business grow. Together, they built a new location on Lovers Lane in 1985, and then in 1989 purchased Daniel Cleaning Co. on Hillcrest Road.
After college, the Godo’s only child, Stacy, went to work with his father making more than most of his peers were making.
In 1993, Stacy married his wife Michelle in the house his parents had built on Granada Avenue in University Park. Karoly died later that year and Pat retired in 2014. By then, Stacy and Michelle were at the helm of Avon Cleaners. Their children Karoly Jr. and Callie grew up in the Park Cities. Michelle died in 2016.
Before Avon, Karoly Godo hadn’t used a dry cleaner. However, his drive to be a business owner and offer exceptional service has led to 50 years of remarkable history right here in the Park Cities.
