3 minute read
Kennett Copy & More
By Marcella Peyre-Ferry Contributing Writer
Kennett Copy & More has everything you need in the way of office supplies, art supplies, inks, toner and more. If you have not visited lately, you will find the store is better and brighter than ever. Kennett Copy & More opened five years ago, following in the footsteps of Rubinstein’s. “We decided it was something the community needed, so we decided to open up our own store in their old building. That’s the store that Rhonda used to run,” co-owner Lori Amway said. Both Amway and Rhonda Thorpe worked many years with the area’s longtime premier copy, office, and art supply store, Rubinstein’s. When Rubenstein’s was closing, it seemed like a natural extension for Amway, who worked in the West Chester location, and Thorpe, who ran the Kennett Square site, to continue the tradition. “We decided to open our own shop doing the same thing.” Amway said. Building on the great reputation of the 739 W. Cypress Street location, Kennett Copy & More has become the place to find all the materials you need for office or personal use. Copying, office supplies and art supplies are their strongest areas, but you can also find faxing, binding, business cards, wide format printing for blue prints and much more. Hit briefly by Covid-19 closures in 2020, Kennett Copy & More faced a greater challenge when the store suffered a devastating fire on May 12, 2020.
Photo by Jennifer Zduniak, Jennifer Zduniak Design and Photography
“We were on target to have a really good year if Covid didn’t hit and then the fire,” Amway said. “We were completely gutted. We had nothing left, all of the other stores in our strip sustained smoke and water damage.” While the building was closed, Amway and Thorpe continued to serve their customers, taking orders by email, and making deliveries in person. Fortunately, customer information was safely backed up to the cloud, so client’s records could be retrieved for ordering purposes. Restoration of the building took longer than first anticipated, with the reopening on May 11, 2021. Now back to normal operations, all interior fixtures have been replaced as well as copy machines, binding machines, computers and all inventory. “We actually expanded into the next store and have a classroom setting,” Amway said. “We have instructors who come in and do classes for us. We had done this before, but now we have a dedicated space to do this.” The entire store has a new look. “The one good thing came out of it is we got the store to where we wanted,” Amway said. “It’s laid out so it functions better for us. We have more working space and the lighting is much better. We lost a year of income, but we were able to design a store that fits our needs now.” This was also an opportunity to eliminate items that weren’t selling and add new categories, particularly in the art supplies section. Kennett Copy & More tries to use local workers and suppliers whenever possible. Being a locally owned company, they know the value of shopping within their own community and encourage others to do so as well. Their appreciation for the community can also be seen in their high level of customer service. “We like to give good customer service that’s what people deserve,” Amway said. Above all, Amway and Thorpe want people to know that Kennett Copy & More is open for business and going strong. “We’re fully open,” Amway said. “It’s important to know we are back from a devastating circumstance and we survived it. We’re here to help the community again.” For more information call 484-732-8066 or visit Kennett Copy & More at 739 W. Cypress St., Kennett Square, and on the web at kennettcopy.com.
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