Beatties closing its doors after more than 50 years in Fort Erie
April 26, 2025 at 5:36 AM
A local business that has been part of the community for more than 50 years is becoming history next month.
Beatties Business Products, a company with roots in Niagara that go back more than 160 years, opened its first Fort Erie location in 1971 on Jarvis Street before moving to its current site decades later.
It will print its final copies and sell stationery products to customers until May 10 when it closes its doors.
Credit: Beatties Business Products | Google MapsBeatties was purchased by Staples Professional in 2023, according to a research report on Brock University’s website.
Staples provided Fort Erie Radio with a brief statement about the closure.
“This decision follows a comprehensive review of operations and local market conditions,” reads the statement from spokesperson Kathleen Stelmach, adding the lease for the location is not being renewed.
The Fort Erie store’s small group of staff will be offered jobs within the corporation.
“All five associates affected by this closure have been personally informed and are receiving support through this transition, including opportunities to explore positions at neighbouring Staples locations,” says the statement.
“We’re committed to ensuring a seamless experience for our customers, who will continue to be served online” on the Beatties website, as well as at nearby Staples retail locations, said Stelmach.
This wasn’t the first run for Staples in Fort Erie.
It opened a store in 2008 on Garrison Road in the unit where Winners is currently located.
It closed in 2013, according to other local media reports from that time.
Beatties’ earliest existence was in 1860 when it was founded as Izzard & Bixby Booksellers and Stationers in downtown St. Catharines before changing its name to Bixby-Beattie Company.
The first branch store was opened in 1968 in the Grantham Plaza in St. Catharines.
In the coming years, Fort Erie’s store opened, as well as locations in Welland and Niagara Falls.
The Beatties site on Vansickle Road in St. Catharines, the company’s corporate headquarters, will continue to operate as a retail store.
Beatties also has sales offices in Toronto, Kitchener, and Burlington.
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About The Author
Kris Dubé
Kris is a veteran journalist who has worked in Niagara for close to 20 years. He is also a lifelong resident of Fort Erie, a place he plans to call home and raise his family for many more years.
This is a tremendous loss. Wonderful people and service that was a part of Fort Erie’s identity. No, Ms. Stelmach, this is not a “seamless” experience for customers. We can’t get copies from a website, which is a blow for indie press and other creatives. A drive to Niagara Falls for this most basic of services is absurd and actually not possible for some.
I’m just wondering why Staples didn’t examine “local market conditions” prior to acquiring Beatties two years ago.