ONEIDA — A staple of the community, Oneida Office Supply is more than an office supply store.

Originally owned by Mayor Helen Acker around seven years ago, Nancy Kinney was a frequent shopper and heard it was on the market. “I had said jokingly ‘Where are we going to shop now?’ and then just decided I was going to buy it,” Kinney said.

While Kinney owns the shop, her daughter Stacy Jones works as manager. “When I bought Oneida Office Supply, it was just running the register for retail customers,” Kinney said. “My daughter changed up a lot. We had a lot of floor space, so we decided to add more shelving and start selling things that aren’t office supplies,” Jones said. “While we have items to run a business, we [branched out.] We sell school supplies, gifts, and other items that you couldn’t find in Oneida at the time.”

School supplies were a big one, with Jones being a former teacher. Oneida Office Supply is a one-stop-spot for parents looking to outfit their children for the coming school year.

“We have a UPS drop off, we can do laminating, we have business card services, and so much more,” Jones said. “And what we can’t do in-house, we work with local print shops so people can come in for one-stop shopping.”

Pandemic shift

“We actually did better staying open during the pandemic,” Kinney said, explaining how they operated during a global pandemic that left many businesses crippled.

“We had all the doors locked, but we were answering phones and taking orders while being no contact,” she said. “People would come to the back door to pick things up.”

And one thing that really brought people to Oneida Office Supply during the pandemic?

“We had toilet paper,” Jones said with a laugh. “That was a huge, saving grace. We advertised that we were selling toilet paper, but we also started selling things like craft kits.”

Altering hours and operating behind closed doors, Oneida Office Supply weathered the pandemic and picked up some dedicated customers along the way. “We were taking care of offices still open during the pandemic, and nobody else was doing that,” Kinney said. “People still needed products and our phones were busy.”

School

Though the end of the school year is still a ways away and the new one is even further, Oneida Office Supply is still thinking about the next generation of students.

“We have a program in place where parents can place an order for their children,” Jones said. “They can call up and tell us who their child’s teacher is, and we can pull up that teacher’s school supply list, put it together, total up the price, and the parents can just pick it up and pay for it — no hassle.”

Back to school can be the busiest season, with bags upon bags of school supplies filling the store. And with help from local agencies like Community Action Partnership, those in need can have their school supply cost taken care of.

“When schools get ready to close, we’ll be gearing up for our next back to school season,” Jones said.

More than office supplies

More than anything, Kinney and Jones wants to make it clear that though their name is ‘Oneida Office Supply,’ they do so much more.

“The biggest misconception is that we just sell office supplies,” Jones said. “Every single day, at least one person walks through our door and says they had no idea we were here or that we have a lot more in it than they thought. ... We have a rich history and we offer a little bit of everything.”

For more information, visit www.oneidaofficesupply.com/