Gregg’s celebrates next chapter under new ownership
Published 12:46 pm Thursday, April 6, 2023
- Gregg’s Office Supply’s new owner Robert Belote shakes hands with Carla Snider after he cut the ribbon celebrating a new chapter in the business history. (Hunter Cloud | The Daily Leader)
BROOKHAVEN — Gregg’s Office Machine Company is an institution of Brookhaven having been in business for the last 50 years. New owner Rob Belote of Southwest Distributors cut the ribbon Thursday morning celebrating a new chapter in Gregg’s story.
Belote is from Pike County and has worked in distribution his entire adult life. He started working in paper and janitorial supply services with Southwest Distributors about a year ago. Gregg’s was willing to sell when he approached them and they closed on the deal in January.
“Gregg’s has a long-standing tradition here and we intend to keep it that way,” Belote said. “We are here to serve your needs and we will offer paper, janitorial and food service supplies. Gregg’s will allow us to meet our goal to be able to supply anything a business needs. We realize it is difficult and there are challenges businesses face in finding supplies and products.”
COVID opened his eyes to the challenges the businesses in Southwest Mississippi faced. He noticed stores would be out of supply of snacks so he attempted to fill that need. As the economy and bigger distributors returned to normal, the snack business started to slow down. Belote said he decided to then expand into paper and janitorial supplies.
Gregg’s was a great fit for Southwest Distributors because it was one of the highest rated supply companies he had found in the state. Belote said it was great to be able to keep things local because he sees the value in serving the community.
“My goal is to take care of south Mississippi and keep things local and take care of the small mom and pop businesses,” Belote said. “Sometimes when industry suppliers consolidate they forget the small companies. I don’t want them to have to search for products. We can provide better service.”
Gregg’s is located at 103 S. Jackson Street, in downtown Brookhaven and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can contact the store via cell phone 601- 833-6281 or visit its website GreggOffice.com