A community staple on West 8th Street could be in jeopardy of closing. Pony Express has been in operation for decades serving the west side community.


The current owner, David Grab purchased the business in 2002 and has expanded its services. In addition to being a post office, they ship with UPS, Fed EX, are a notary public, have mailboxes and sell different items. They are a one-stop shop for the neighborhood.


Grab and his wife were in the process of selling the business to retire when they received a noticed that their contract with the U.S. Postal Office would be terminated in 120 days with no explanation. They are devastated and are looking for answers.


It's a familiar sight for customers to see Grab and his dog, Harley at the counter of Pony Express.
 As Beverly Cisney, a long-time customer explained, "You come in here, you get to know the people. They are so nice here and the dog, that just adds to it. It makes you feel very comfortable."


Grab was planning on retiring and selling the business, but things were put to a halt. As Grab explained, "A week and a half ago, we were notified by the United States Postal Service that they were issuing a termination, a 120 notification to my business canceling the contract we had in place for all these years and not issuing one to the new owners."


Grab said he had no idea what triggered this response from the U.S. Postal Service and wants answers, "To our understanding, they are trying to drive the customer base back to the brick and mortar store that the United States Postal Service either owns, kind of stating they can handle the volume we do on an annual basis."


Grab said while he was comfortable with the idea of retiring, seeing his business close would be painful. As Grab explained, "It would be devastating to my wife and I, we were looking to retire. In addition to that, to take a community jewel that has been so instrumental in this area and to have it close because of the United States Postal Service."

Customers were shocked to hear this staple could be closing, As Cisney explained, "I do all my postage stamps here. I do all my cards here, mail packages, everything. It's just very convenient because I'm only two blocks away."


She is able to walk a few blocks to get everything she needs to get her work done at the store and said it would be loss if Pony Express were to close. "It would be a major loss, especially to the folks at St. Joe's because there is just no way that most of us could get anywhere to mail packages and so forth", said Cisney.


She's not alone, fellow neighbors said if they were to lose the business it would be a major change. Jay Shimek, a customer said, "It would create a big hole, it has been here for decades, as long as I can remember, and the services you get, the convenience, it would be sorely, sorely missed."


Patrons that come in here every day agree, Pony Express is more than a post office, it's a one-stop shop where they can get so many things done and if they were to lose that, it would be a huge loss to the neighborhood and the community. The next closest post office is on West 26th Street and Peninsula and some customers said it would be a hike to do their daily mailing.


According to Shimek, "I do have a P.O. Box here. They have better hours than the post office and they have better hours. What we are really talking about is going to 26th and Peninsula and that's a long drive, a lot of traffic."


Customers who make stops to the store daily said they don't want to see the store close its doors. Gary Finney, a long-time Customer said, "It would be a great disappointment if we lost stores like Pony Express because it makes it convenient, going to the post office is really a bad option, especially Presque Isle because you can stand in line forever and when it's the holiday season it's even worse."


Other customers wish the U.S. Postal Service would see that Pony Express is more than just a place to mail items. Matthew Kramer, another customer said, "It's a shame that the postal service is not recognizing the ability of this place to connect with the community...It's not just a post office box. It's a meeting place, it's where you see friends you haven't seen in five or six weeks."


A petition has been created both online and in the store, its been up for two days and already has close to 1000 signatures. You can find the petition here.

Grab said he has reached out to Senator John Fetterman and Senator Dave McCormick but have yet to hear back. He also reached out to Congressman Mike Kelly and received a response back stating that the U.S. Postal Service has a right to do this.