In recent months, when Rhonda Thorpe and Lori Amway were setting up to open Kennett Copy & More, people would frequently stop by and say that they were so glad that an office supply store was opening in the former Rubinstein's location in New Garden Plaza II on Cypress Street.

“We heard that from so many people—'we're glad you're back.' It's definitely a good feeling to know that the community has embraced us,” Lori explained.

The two business partners are certainly perfectly suited to run their own office supply store. Lori was the manager of the West Chester location and Rhonda worked as the manager of the Rubinstein's store in Kennett Square until that location closed in June of 2015. After Rubinstein's in Kennett Square was closed, it took Rhonda and Lori just a few months to decide that what they really wanted to do was open their own store to serve the clients that previously shopped at Rubinstein's.

“Together,” Lori explained, “we have about 60 years of experience in the office supply business. We also have a good working relationship with each other.”

Their new store, which has approximately 3,800 square feet of space, features a lot of art supplies and office supplies, in addition to the copy center.

Kennett Copy & More offers art supplies for professional and amateur artists, including paints, paint brushes, easels, and canvases.

“All of our main art supplies are discounted,” Lori noted.

The store carries a little bit of everything, ranging from crafts for children to coloring books for adults. They have a selection of educational supplies, and will be expanding those offerings.

With all their experience in the business, Rhonda and Lori had some good ideas about what products they wanted to bring in initially, and now they are waiting to hear from customers about what other needs exist.

Lori explained, “We're going to focus on what the customer base tells us they want.”

They can do black and white or color copies for customers. They can also prepare copies of things like church bulletins or blueprints. Rhonda explained that customers want fast and reliable service when it comes to copies, and they can deliver on that. She also said that they will make it a point to get to know their customers so that they can better serve them. The store also offers fax services, and will soon be adding passport services to the list of offerings.

In addition to the aforementioned services, the store sells copy paper and ink cartridges, document shredders, and storage boxes.

Not only will they be listening to customers when it comes to making decisions about which products to carry, Lori also said that they can special order anything that customers might want.

Rhonda and Lori both said that they feel like the Kennett Square community has embraced the new store, and they want to return the favor. They have utilized local businesses for a variety of products and services as they have been starting up the business.

“Since we're a local business, we try to do business locally,” Rhonda explained.

She added that they have really enjoyed the new business venture so far.

“It's really been a lot of fun—even the hard work of setting up the store,” she explained.

“It's very exciting,” Lori added.

The two new business owners pledged to always make customer satisfaction a priority—that's a lesson that they've both learned during their experience in the business.

“We pride ourselves on customer service,” Rhonda explained. “We will always do our best for the customer.”

Kennett Copy & More is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on each Saturday. The telephone number is 484-732-8066 and the email address is [email protected].