Fong’s Hand Landry & Cleaners at 36 Elm Place has been a fixture in Rye since it opened in 1956. Current owners Sam (RHS ’68) and Lili Moy took over from Sam’s father in 1968. Recently the two had announced an impending closure of the business at the end of February but on Wednesday there was a reversal. Fong’s, the rare local business that has served three generations of Rye families, will remain open.
Sam and Lili’s oldest son Eric (RHS ’88), 54 years old, will take over the business. Eric just emerged from a serious health scare that put enough uncertainty into the equation the business headed towards closure. But that all changed this week as the outlook improved this week for Eric, who has worked in the business full time for the last 25 years after a brief stint in banking.
“God has his weird ways and this was the blessing and a calling to come back to really help my family, not just with the business, but their own personal lives,” Eric Moy told MyRye.com on Wednesday. “It’s a new start for me. We will continue the Chinese tradition of folding shirts and in doing all the stuff that Chinese laundries do. I’m happy to serve the community. I’ve always been part of this community. I’ll forever be a Rye guy.”
Eric and his wife have two children, Max 17 and Molly 12. Max is at the business at least twice a week – on Saturdays and sometimes after school. Asked if there will be a fourth generation of Moys in the business, Eric is clear that is up to his children, describing with pride an internship his son enjoyed at the Norwalk Aquarium last summer.
“The laundry life isn’t for everybody,” said Eric Moy.
But another generation of Rye families will look good thanks to the Moys.
