Community Corner

Hoyt's Office Products Closes After 45 Years

Dottie Light said the family has nearly sold the four-story Market Street business after officially closing its doors earlier this month.

For nearly 50 years, Hoyt's Office Products was a fixture on Market Street that displayed antique typewriters in ifs storefront window.

Shortly after Labor Day Weekend, Dottie Light said her son, Brian Light, the business' owner, could not continue to run the store because of health issues.

Light said her son was previously diagnosed with a brain tumor and had been in remission for 10 years before problems with short term memory loss resurfaced.

"If he can't come back, I felt I had to do it," Light said Monday morning as she helped clean out the store's contents.

She said the Light family closed the other store they operated in downtown Rochester a year ago. In both cases, their decision to close both stores was not related to competition from the Big Box stores or a loss of loyal customers, Light said.

When asked what happened to all of the antique typewriters, Light said they were moved to the basement. She was not sure if they would sell them separately or as a group , but many of the restored Underwoods and electric Smith Coronas would be sold for anywhere from $300 to $500 each.

Light said her family recently entered into a purchase and sales agreement with a buyer for the Portsmouth store located at 47 Market St. The building consists of four floors and has provided office supplies as Hoyt's for more than 100 years.

As hard as it has been for her to close the Portsmouth store, Light said she felt it was the right thing to do for her son's health.

"I just want to say thank you to all of our customers," she said.


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