One Stop Corner Owner Opens Second Location in Lebanon City

A little more than two years ago, Issis siblings Joey, 22, and Amanda, 26, opened the One Stop Corner convenience store in the 1000 block of Church Street with the goal of creating a business that meant something to the community.

When the Lebanon Daily News last visited, the duo was grateful to be able to provide the community with a store within walking distance of many people where they can buy basic necessities like bread and milk, where their children can come pick up snacks, a place where employees knew the names of their regular customers.

Since opening their first store in 2021 after purchasing the building in 2019, they have seen tremendous success in their mission, although it took time to get their name out there initially.

“We’re doing good. It just keeps getting better, we’re doing great there,” Joey said. “It’s a blessing to us and our family and we just continue to support the community and they give back to us. That’s really our end goal and it just continues to come full circle.”

On Sunday, May 5, the Issis opened their second location in Lebanon, at the corner of 9th and Cumberland streets, a project the two have been working on since purchasing the building in 2021.

One Stop Corner, located at 908 Cumberland Street, is open Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The building was formerly a hair salon which suffered a fire and explosion caused by a gas leak in 2021.

Joey explained that the property was in better condition than it first appeared, but converting the layout from a hair salon to a convenience store plus obtaining the proper inspections and permits was not a task. simple.

“We had to completely convert it, we had to add meters, equipment, so it was like a completely different ball game,” he said. “We kind of had to start from scratch, just to get back to what we wanted, because it wasn’t even anything close to the layout that we needed.”

In both cases of their One Stop Corner stores, the Issis had a vision they believe no one else had, transforming unused and run-down buildings into one-stop shops within walking distance for many.

Their new location is slightly smaller than the one on Church Street, they said, and what they stock at the store will evolve based on neighborhood demands and needs over time.

Serving the needs of the community, stocking the foods and items they want, is one of the main goals of his business.

“Anyone can open a convenience store and bring in all the products,” Amanda said. “I feel like at the end of the day it’s not what separates us from other stores in Lebanon, I feel like it’s the connections that we have and who we do for our clients.

For now, however, they offer the basics at the Cumberland Street store, including bread, milk and meats, as well as a variety of snacks, sodas and tobacco/vape products.

Beyond stocking items requested by the community, Amanda said she wanted the community to know she was there to support them and enhance Lebanon City’s reputation. Children, for example, they often see entering their store and want to encourage them to make the right choice, knowing that shoplifting is an occasional fact of life.

“Our goal is not to get them in trouble and put them in prison at such a young age, but quite the opposite. We want to teach them, we want to show them that people care about your future and we don’t let’s not do it.” I don’t want you to be those children who grow up and give Lebanon a bad name. »

Currently, One Stop Corner has five employees between its two stores, but they take seriously the position they and their family have as owners of the business, always trying to be present and available to make those connections with their clients.