The postal substation inside Surrey Center Pharmacy, a fixture in the community since 1979, will close Sept. 30 despite a groundswell of support for the small station.
Surrey Center Pharmacy confirmed the decision in a note to customers, thanking them for their efforts to keep the unit open.
“We have enjoyed providing this service to the community for almost 45 years,” the statement said. “We pride ourselves in providing friendly and efficient service to our customers. Unfortunately, we will be closing the post office on Sept. 30, 2025.”
USPS notified the pharmacy in June it was terminating the substation’s contract. The substation is a Contract Postal Unit, a privately run postal counter housed inside a local business, such as a pharmacy or grocery store. The unit at Surrey has no designated staff and sales are handled by pharmacy personnel.
Pharmacist and owner Courtnee Russ said the terms USPS offered for renewing the substation’s contract were unacceptable.
“We are extremely disappointed to not be able to come to agreeable terms with the United States Postal Service to save our CPU at Surrey Center Pharmacy,” she said.
The shutdown is part of a wave of Contract Postal Unit closures occurring in at least eight states across the country. In Georgia, the closures are expected to include the contract unit at ADD Drug in Athens.
The pharmacy is grateful for the outpouring of support from customers who signed petitions and contacted their elected leaders to keep the station open. The note thanked U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and offered special thanks to U.S. Rep. Rick Allen and his staff, “for their efforts locally as well as their continued efforts to bring change to the U.S. Postal System.”
Allen condemned USPS for making a “wrong decision” in a statement released Monday.
“The closing of the USPS CPU at Surrey Center Pharmacy is extremely disappointing to me and many others in our community,” he said. “Though a renewal was offered, our months-long effort in coordination with the pharmacy and USPS did not result in agreeable terms.”
Allen said since June he has requested data from USPS justifying the decision, but been ignored. He also met with Postmaster General David Steiner but got no answers.
On Sept. 16, Allen introduced the bipartisan Contract Postal Unit Transparency Act, which would require USPS to disclose the factors behind CPU closures, report potential impacts on residents and businesses and hold public hearings before any contract station is eliminated.
