Card$mart to Close After 35 Years in Peachtree City

After 35 years in Peachtree City, Card$mart will close in February, ending a long run as a neighborhood staple for greeting cards, gifts, and postal services.

The closure was announced publicly last Saturday, prompting an outpouring of reactions from longtime customers on social media. The store’s last day open to the public will be Friday, Feb. 20, with the space to be vacated by the end of the month.

The business has been owned for the past 20 years by Pauline and Vince Bonura and operated day-to-day by their daughters, Jennifer Leon and Stephanie Cote.

“It’s been tearing my sister and me up,” Leon said. “But we’re trying to stay very positive and remind our parents, this is what has to happen.”

A family-run business

Card$mart has been part of Peachtree City since the late 1980s. The Bonuras purchased the store about 20 years ago from its original owner, Kathy DeStefani, and Leon and Cote have managed the business since that time.

“My parents have owned it for 20 years, but my sister and I have always managed it,” Leon said. “My mom has worked some shifts over the years, but it’s always been the two of us running it.”

Leon stepped away from daily operations last year to help run her husband’s construction business but returned when the decision was made to close. Cote has continued managing the store while also raising her children.

“My sister still has little kids,” Leon said. “She doesn’t have the time to dedicate to the business that it needs to be the successful business it is.”

Leon said employees were informed of the planned closure in October, though the final closing date was not confirmed until recently due to ongoing lease discussions.

Planning for retirement

Leon said the decision to close was driven in part by the desire to ensure her parents could retire comfortably. Pauline Bonura is 76 and ready to step away from the responsibilities of running a retail business.

The family has also navigated long-term health and mobility challenges. Vince Bonura is a double amputee following a work-related train accident while employed by CSX more than two decades ago.

“My sister and I really pushed for retirement because we didn’t want our parents dipping into their own funds to keep it afloat,” Leon said. “We wanted them to have something for the future.”

Attempts to sell the business

Leon said the family explored selling Card$mart and had interest from potential buyers, but those efforts ultimately fell through.

“We did have two prospective buyers,” Leon said. “They went as far as applying with the leasing company, which is based in New York, and they were not approved.”

Leon said the family was not given specific reasons for the decisions.

“They didn’t give us the reasons,” she said. “That’s just what we were told — that the applicants were not approved.”

Without an approved buyer and with the lease nearing its end, the family moved forward with plans to close the business.

Why customers kept coming back

While Card$mart is known for its wide selection of cards and gifts, Leon said many customers first walked through the door for another reason: postal service.

“Initially, it’s the post office that gets them in the door,” Leon said. “Local area post offices are notoriously horrible with customer service. We’re store employees, not postal employees, so customer service is what keeps our lights on.”

Card$mart operates as a U.S. Postal Service contract unit, offering mailing and package services at standard postal rates without upcharges. Leon said honesty was central to how they did business.

“If we’re not the cheapest option, we’ll tell you,” she said. “We send people to the UPS store all the time. We want you to mail it as cheap as possible.”

That approach built trust — and loyalty — over decades.

“Once they come in, they see we have great cards and great gifts, and it’s not too expensive,” Leon said.

A changing retail landscape

Beyond leasing challenges, Leon said the business has become harder to sustain in recent years.

“Since the pandemic, it’s gotten a lot harder,” she said.

In 2024, Card$mart earned about $74,000 in revenue from postal services alone, but Leon said rising costs and increasing customer service demands tied to postal delays added strain.

“People come in asking where their package is, and we have the same information they do,” she said. “We experience the same delays everyone else does.”

What the sisters want customers to know

As the final weeks approach, both sisters said they have been deeply moved by the response from the community.

“Thank you,” Leon said. “Thank you for letting us serve you and for treating us like family.”

Cote said she will miss the daily interactions that made the store feel like more than a job.

“I’m going to miss the community as a whole,” Cote said. “After years of helping them and serving them, they’re almost like family. You hear everyone’s stories — it’s almost like working at a hair salon.”

Cote said the decision ultimately came down to caring for their parents.

“I just want them to relax and not have so much responsibility hanging over their heads,” she said. “Now they’ll be free of that.”

Final weeks and clearance sales

Card$mart remains open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with full postal services continuing through Feb. 20. All greeting cards are priced at $1, and merchandise is 50% off, with deeper discounts expected as inventory sells down.

Employees will remain through the final day, Leon said.

“We’re a small family,” she said. “That was probably the hardest part — telling our employees.”

As Card$mart prepares to close its doors, the sisters said they are grateful for the opportunity to serve Peachtree City for more than two decades.