Topsail Beach Post Office to close after 60+ years of service

USPS is looking to phase out privately-run locations

TOPSAIL BEACH, NC (WWAY) — A post office in one Pender County Beach town is set to close at the end of next month. 

The post office in Topsail Beach has been serving the small beach town since 1964. 

The location has been operating as a certified public unit, meaning it’s operated by a third party who’s contracted under USPS. 

But since USPS is phasing out these kind of locations, the Topsail Beach Post Office will close on September 30. 

If you have a PO box at that location, you can either forward that mail to a PO box at the Holly Ridge Post Office, or at the one in Surf City. 

David Harris has been getting his mail from the post office for decades, and says he’s sad to see the location go. 

Harris says he’ll be setting up a new PO box at the Holly Ridge location. 

“Doris, the ‘post-mistress,’ has been here since 1952, and we are going to really miss her and her nephew Danny, who’s now the postmaster,” he said. “It’s going to be a big impact cause we’re going to have to drive up there all the time, but other than that, we can probably handle it.” 

The post office will be holding a thank you party for former Postmaster Doris Jenkins, who’s now 87 years old. Details about that event will be posted in the post office on South Anderson Boulevard. 

WWAY reached out to USPS about the closure and was sent the following statement:

“Under the Contract Postal Unit contract terms, the United States Postal Service and CPU operators both agree that either party can terminate the contract upon giving 120 days’ notice.  In the case of Topsail Beach, the CPU operator has terminated the agreement – not the Postal Service. We are working to ensure our nearby locations are prepared to serve the community’s need for postal services in the absence of this CPU location.”