Secrets of My Success: Mid-Town Stationery

Pete Williams is the owner of Mid-Town Stationery, which has stood at the corner of N. Main St. and Adee St for more than three decades.

Williams, born and raised in Port Chester, left his job at Pitney Bowes to work full-time in his family’s store, along side his father and brother. Though Mid-Town was not welcomed by other Port Chester businesses at the start, it has since become own of downtown's defining features.     

Customers know the stationery store for its lottery tickets, and for the friendly 58-year-old man behind the desk who knows them all by name. Though Walgreens has certainly cut into sales, the store still stands strong. In an interview with Patch, Williams gives the details of his 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. workday and how he has made it this far on “hard work and luck”. 

Q. How did you get started in your business?

 A. Actually, it was a family business that we started years ago and this was really just kind of like a second job, just to venture from my original job [at] Pitney Bowes in Stamford. And my brother and father were here during the day when we first opened and in the evenings I would come down after my original job and stay here through the evening hours. I did that for about eight to 10 years and the business was just... I don't want to say so successful, but the business was better than my job at Pitney Bowes. So I left my job at Pitney and stayed here full-time. So it was a sideline, originally.

Q. What was your toughest challenge in the beginning? How old were you when you started? 

 A. I guess I was about 24 years old. The hardest challenge? To tell you the truth, other than... obviously, we created this business, start up problems business-wise, we really didn’t face many obstacles. When we came down here, my brother and I, to look at sites to open the business, there were, at the time, I think 25 or 30 empty stores down here. It was really a bad time. So we really had our choice of quite a few empty stores to create this business. We picked this location because it was on a corner in kind of a main intersection but looking back the only other challenge I can remember was... we weren't quite accepted by a lot of the other older established businesses. Not that they made it difficult on us but you know, a lot of the other older established businesses, they were kind of distant. But as we became more and more successful and they saw the kind of people we were, they accepted us more. 

Q. Why do you think they didn't accept you originally?

A. Well, I think at the time it was like an old boy network. There were a lot of merchants that were here for years... Like originally we weren't asked to become members of the chamber, the merchants association... but you know little things like that. That didn’t mean anything to me. That was really the only obstacle and it wasn't really a big obstacle.

Q. What do you think the secret to your success is?

A. You have to be reliable. You've got to treat people like people. You know, all the old clichés I think apply. There's no secret to it. You treat people right. And at the time you know, it was a difficult time to start a business. There were so many empty stores here. It was in the transition of a lot of these shopping malls opening up. There were a lot of things going on, so we were lucky. You know, hard work and luck.

Q. Who is your competition around here right now?

 A. Right now? Well I'd like to say Walgreens but they're not really any competition because I can't measure up to them. But thank God my lottery, which is the greater portion of my business, has remained pretty steady. A lot of the other snacks and items... Walgreens just ate into all that. 

Q. What makes you different from Walgreens? Your lottery, anything else?

 A. My lottery. I know an awful lot of my customers on a first name basis. They know my family. A lot of the kids now, I know their parents. Their parents come in here. You know, it has certain benefits being here for so long. You know a lot of people in the town.

Q. What do you like the most about your job?

 A. I enjoy the people. I enjoy the fact that I'm my own boss. It's my life really. I hate saying this but I'm closer to this business than I am my own kids. It’s been around longer than my kids. It’s just, it’s a part of me. I'm getting to the point now where I have to start thinking about retirement and I'll tell you the truth I'm a little scared. This is all I've known for 35 years. Five in the morning till 7:30 at night. You know, it's hard work. 

Q. What do you hate most about your job?

A. The hours! It's just a long day with no breaks.

Q. Can you give me an idea of what a day in your life is like, working in the store?

A. You know what it's like? It's like serving a sentence in jail. I mean, everything is dictated for you. You have to be here. And I can tell what time it is by who I'm seeing, you know, what time they come into the store. Everything is laid out for you. You get here in the morning; you turn the lotto machines on and the lights on; you put the coffee on; you put the newspapers out... All laid out for you. 

Q. What suggestions would you have for someone who wants to go into your business?

A. Find another line of work! No, no, no; it's been good to me. I don’t want to lie; it's been very good to me. We started with nothing. I own the building now. I own the properties. This has been a very good corner for me for a number of years. It takes an awful lot of hard work; it really does. And you know, the bigger stores, that are opening today and they sell everything you sell... it's a big challenge. The big stores eat the small stores up. That's the biggest challenge someone young would have looking to get into this line of work. I'm really happy my kids never took an interest in this. My daughter works now on Wall Street. My son is a mortician, so I'm really glad that they never took an interest in this because it’s an awful big commitment. 

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