Two East State Street businesses had demanding weekends as one store officially opened its doors for students while another store emptied its racks.
Staples, Inc., 973 E. State St., held its grand opening in Athens Saturday as JC Penney Company, Inc., located just down the street in University Mall, shut its doors.
Staples officially opened Nov. 20 to allow customers to get acquainted with the store and the employees to learn their jobs, said Ed Houglan, general manager of Staples.
All of the employees except for Houglan are new to working at Staples, he said.
The grand opening was accompanied by sales, free food and attendance by the local radio station, along with a steady stream of customers all day.
Houglan said the store's grand opening was delayed until Ohio University students had returned back to school.
We wanted to get word out 'hey we're here' to the students
he said.
Leigh Wisniewski, an OU senior studying business, said she went to Staples because it has a better selection and comparable prices than other stores in town.
I love office supply stores she said.
Wisniewski said she will continue to shop at Staples because it is easier to buy one item, which is not the case with Wal-Mart.
Not all students will be shopping at Staples in the future, however.
Tiffany O'Neill, an OU sophomore studying photography, said she was impressed that the grand opening coincided with the beginning of the quarter, but that she probably would not shop at Staples.
I don't like chains and it's too far away
O'Neill said.
Mary Gerlach, an OU sophomore studying journalism, said she agreed Staples was far to travel, but thought it would be different if she did not live in a dorm.
But as Staples celebrated its grand opening, JC Penney employees and shoppers spent their final hours in the store.
The store was empty in its last days of business, except for eight racks of clothes near the entrance.
Many of the customers said they had come for the closeout sales. All of the clothing left was being sold for $3 or less. Merchandise was being sold so fast the store almost closed ahead of time.
It's hard to believe
several customers said to one other as they paid for their purchases and walked out of the nearly empty store for the last time.
Now that JC Penney is vacant, it is unknown who will rent the space.
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Jayne Gest
