The Nikiski Post Office reopened Tuesday, more than two months after closing its doors. The closure sent hundreds of customers to Kenai to pick up mail that otherwise would have been sent to their P.O. Box.
Now, those customers can again get mail in Nikiski – in the same building as before. That’s after the U.S. Postal Service announced Monday it would reopen the location.
Unlike traditional post offices, Nikiski’s is a contract post office. That means the location offers post office services, but is run independently as a business which has a contract with the postal service. About a month before the location closed, the postal service suspended retail services there. That meant it no longer sold stamps or made other financial transactions.
The Nikiski location closed in late August after the postal service ended its contract with the Nikiski operator. James Boxrud, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service's Western/Pacific region, told KDLL last month that he could not say why the contract was terminated.
In early September the U.S. Postal Service put out an open call to businesses interested in taking over the post office contract. Potential new hosts included the Nikiski Recreation Center and the North Kenai Community Club.
At the time the Nikiski location closed, roughly 600 of its 1,000 P.O. boxes were in use. The postal service rerouted mail for those customers to the Kenai Post Office, about 20 minutes away. That reroute created long lines at the Kenai location, which designated a separate window for Nikiski customers.
In a press release announcing the reopening, the postal service apologized for the inconvenience and said it’s “pleased to restore service to the Nikiski community.”
The Nikiski Post Office is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at 51708 Kenai Spur Highway. Retail services, including stamp purchases, will resume Nov. 10.
