‘Education goes all the way.’ See the comeback of Macon’s only school supply store

The long-awaited return of Macon’s only school supply store is here, serving old and new customers with a fresh perspective.

Teacher Needs, formerly known as the historic GA School Supply Store, is located at 6394 Zebulon Road. After more than 50 years of operation, the previous owners closed the store on Mercer University Drive in December 2023.

The Telegraph has previously reported Middle Georgia teachers’ excitement about the cherished staple’s revival.

New store owners McLain and Roxanne Oppy said the one-stop shop for educational needs has always been essential for teachers in Middle Georgia because of its convenience.

They said the store’s unique position as a physical vendor for teachers, offering tactile and visual product experiences that online retailers like Amazon cannot provide.

“It’s beneficial to have a store that you can just walk into and get what you need the minute you know you need it,” said Roxanne Oppy, a former early childhood educator and a frequent customer of the original business before it closed.

“Sometimes, you can’t order on Amazon and get it quick enough. You run into the fact that it might not show up, or it might not be scheduled to show up until after your lesson,” she added.

Lack of education supply competition in Georgia

McLain Oppy also noted that because there is a lack of education supply competition in the area, the store will save educators a long commute to Atlanta or other cities out of state.

Customers can expect a diverse choice of products, such as bulletin board sets, workbooks, educational games, incentive charts and more. The owners are also open to public feedback on what items customers would like to see in the store that were not previously available.

The original GA Supply Store sold mostly resources geared toward elementary education, Roxanne said.

With the new store carrying a wide range of supplies, their vision for it is to cater to a broader audience, including public school teachers, local daycare centers and fast-growing homeschool communities to cover all subjects and expand across age groups.

“We don’t want to just focus on the elementary levels. We want everyone included because education goes all the way,” Roxanne Oppy said.

McLain Oppy said that the store also has books that are not aligned with Common Core, serving the needs of homeschool parents who decide to avoid the commonly used academic standards.

“There’s lots of differing opinions on what makes quality educational material,” he said. “We don’t want to pick winners and losers. We want the market to do that, but the only way to facilitate that is to carry a little bit of everything and see what actually is preferred in the market.”

Catering to old customers, attracting new ones

Teacher Needs launched a soft opening on Feb. 8. The store’s social media following is gradually increasing, bringing in customers from Atlanta and Vidalia, Roxanne Oppy said.

“That was kind of a big deal — that the word is spreading to other counties besides us,” she said. “So, that’s what we’re trying to do—spread that word even further.”

The owners aim to sustain its local clientele from the previous store and attract new customers, and said they will continue to accept old punch cards, which offer a 10% discount on purchases, as well as roll out a new rewards initiative.

Despite already being open for some time, the store’s grand opening is March 15 at 10 a.m. Teacher Needs isn’t currently looking for employees but will consider expanding its labor force based on sales, owners said.

Operating hours are from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 2:25 PM.