Bill Carlson patrolled the 14 aisles of office supplies and furniture, art supplies and picture frames of Central Florida Office Plus for 30 years.
The 57-year-old employee had been with the local office supply store longer than any other worker.
“I’ve known every delivery driver that has come through this area, and they’re like family,” he said.
Carlson has done everything from inventory to deliveries to helping out on the floor.
“I’m kind of the catch up person,” he said. “If people don’t get things done, I finish it up.”
He said he stayed there so long because it was a place where he knew he wasn’t going to have any problems. It offered job security. As of Tuesday, Carlson was one of 21 employees who lost their job when the office supply store closed down.
The owner, 63-year-old W.T. Chesnut, said he hates that the store is closing. He said he was 8 years old when his father opened it 56 years ago.
“It’s a part of me,” he said.
The store started as a hub for office supplies and furniture, but to students, it was the place to go for all of their art supply needs.
Chesnut said it does create a problem for the students and artists in the area.
“We are Gainesville’s art supply store,” he said. “We really feel that we have served a need in Gainesville and that need is going to be a little bit hard to fill.”
Joshua Giron, a 24-year-old UF architecture junior, said after class ended, his classmates sometimes went as a group to purchase supplies because the store was so close to campus, and they couldn’t find the things they need at other stores.
“Since the summer courses are so demanding, we go a couple of times during the week because we have a new project every day,” he said. “It’s a very strong resource for us that we need, and without it, it’s going to be rough.”
Chesnut said he feels terrible about leaving a hole in Gainesville.
“We supported it for as long as we could afford to,” he said.
Costs went up and sales down, Chesnut said. Even with the support of the local art community, the cost of the business was still based on office supplies and office furniture.
“Those sales have declined with the advent of both the big-box competition and the Internet,” he said.
Chesnut said the students the store served have added a lot to his life.
“We have enjoyed watching over the years kids that came in here from their first experience at buying maybe an art fundamentals kit through seeing some of their work at some of the art shows,” he said.
As for the employees, Chesnut said they should be able to find jobs without any trouble.
“They’re all very qualified people,” he said. “They’re a fantastic group.”
The assistant manager, 26-year-old Daniel Lehnen, worked with the store for four years. He said he does not know where he is going to go, but he is not worried.
“I feel like it’s a good opportunity for myself to get something else,” he said.
Chesnut said he is thankful to everyone who has supported the store throughout the years.
“The most important assets we’ve always had are the employees that work for us, the customers that they take care of and the vendors that have done a great job of supplying us,” he said. “Those three things have made it worthwhile.”
He said he will miss all of the employees.
“The bottom line is we all love one another,” Carlson said. “We’d do anything for one another.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 7/1/2014 under the headline "Office supply store closes, leaving hole in art community"]
Central Florida Office Plus, located at 10 Northwest Sixth St., closed its doors Tuesday after 56 years of business. The store was a hub for local artists and office workers.
