PRESS RELEASE

City of Porterville                                                                                            
291 N. Main Street
Porterville, CA 93257
www.ci.porterville.ca.us/newslist.php

For more information, contact:
Yuriko Velarde, Administrative Analyst
yvelarde@ci.porterville.ca.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Press Shop Closes After 41 Years - A CITY OF PORTERVILLE LEGACY BUSINESS HONOREE

Porterville, CA – March 22, 2023

The City of Porterville is pleased to announce The Press Shop as a Legacy Business Honoree, after its closure in early 2023 following 41 years of business service. The City of Porterville seeks to celebrate local businesses at the conclusion of their business endeavors following long tenures in the City. The presentation took place at the Porterville City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, with a presentation of a Certificate of Recognition by Mayor Martha A. Flores to The Press Shop owner Karen Jordan.

During the presentation, City staff shared a history of The Press Shop in Porterville. Following the presentation, Karen took a moment to recognize the team members who had helped make her decades-long business trajectory a successful one.

About The Press Shop

The Press Shop provided valuable dry-cleaning services to the community from the iconic Downtown Porterville location at 12 W. Olive Ave. Every year, more than 4,000 customers enjoyed a variety of services, including pressing, steaming, laundry, alterations, and care for draperies and leathers. On average, The Press Shop team was comprised of 6 individuals who processed more than 80,000 items and completed 19,000 pounds of laundry a year.

It all started in 1977 when Karen Jordan moved to Porterville from Southern California. At the time, Karen did not know many people in the area. But, as luck would have it – she would meet her second husband, LeRoy, here. LeRoy grew up in Porterville and helped Karen settle into the community.

Karen hoped to work in a local dry-cleaning shop, having worked in the industry since she was a teenager. In 1982, she began working part-time at The Press Shop. She did not know that Charles Spencer, owner, was preparing to sell his business. After only 2 months of working with Charles, he asked Karen if she wanted to buy the business. Without thinking twice, Karen and LeRoy purchased The Press Shop. Karen eventually resigned from her other job at the Porterville Developmental Center to focus her energy on their new venture.

The Press Shop quickly became a family business as Karen’s daughters and grandchildren worked there throughout the years. Hiring local team members was a high priority for Karen, and employees gained excellent customer service skills – which they later applied in other organizations. The Press Shop’s store manager, Toshia Escalera, worked there for more than 20 years and the presser, Sandra Villaseñor, for 15 years. Karen’s daughters, Kim Marler and Stephanie Juereca, have gone onto management roles at other local Porterville businesses.

Community Service in a Quaint, Growing Community

“I’ve been through a lot of ages in this town,” says Karen. She recalls thinking Porterville was a “small, nice community” when she first saw it in the 1970s. “I liked where we were, right in the thick of Main Street’s small-town charm,” she says.

After only a few years in Porterville, Karen got to know many people and continued to fall in love with the close-knit community feel that Porterville is known for.

That sense of community motivated Karen to get involved in helping others. For 30 years, Karen was a member of the “20 Ands Club,” where she helped fundraise for scholarships benefiting students who chose to attend Porterville College after high school.

Even though Porterville has grown in size from a population of a little under 20,000 when Karen arrived to more than 62,000 today, she says it retains its charm. “You can’t get that everywhere,” she added.

Plans for the Future

Early in 2023, Karen made the decision to close the doors of The Press Shop. From the very beginning, she had worked closely with her husband to ensure the establishment was well maintained. When LeRoy passed away 4 years ago, she continued running the shop with the help of her loyal employees. With The Press Shop’s closure, Karen feels grateful for the community that welcomed her many years ago. After decades of focusing on The Press Shop full-time, she says she now plans to travel.

The City of Porterville thanks Karen Jordan and The Press Shop team for their dedication to our Porterville community for 41 years.

To learn more about business opportunities in Porterville, please visit www.ChoosePorterville.com.
For questions regarding the City of Porterville’s Legacy Business Recognition Program, please contact the City of Porterville’s Economic Development Division by emailing EcDev@ci.porterville.ca.us or calling (559) 782-7460.

Photos of the Press Shop

Mayor Martha A. Flores presented a Certificate of Recognition of The Press Shop to business owner Karen Jordan at the Porterville City Council Meeting that took place on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. 


The Press Shop owner Karen Jordan shared the recognition with team members who worked with her for up to more than two decades. Family members who had worked at The Press Shop also accompanied Karen. 


From Left to Right: Karen Jordan’s daughter, Kim Marler; The Press Shop’s presser of 15 years, Sandra Villaseñor; The Press Shop owner, Karen Jordan; The Press Shop’s manager of 22 years, Toshia Escalera; Karen Jordan’s daughter, Stephanie Juereca. 


The Press Shop owner Karen Jordan shared the Legacy Business Recognition with team members and family members. 


The Press Shop owner Karen Jordan worked as part of a team numbering half a dozen to process more than 80,000 unique items yearly, including delicate garments and clothing alterations. 


The Press Shop regularly helped in the careful preservation of family heirlooms, including wedding dresses and quinceañera gowns. 


The Press Shop owners, Karen (fourth from the right) and LeRoy (third from the left) Jordan took pride in hiring locally and also hired family members along the way. Photo contributed by Karen Jordan.


Members of the now-dissolved 20-Ands service club. Photo originally shared by The Porterville Recorder for an article regarding the 20-Ands Club.