In business for 94 years, Wigon Office Supplies gives stock to teachers before closing
A beloved Portland institution is preparing to close its doors after nearly a century in business, but not before giving back to the community that supported it for so long.
Wigon Office Supplies, a fixture on Free Street in the city's Old Port neighborhood since 1932, will wind down operations through the end of October. The 94-year-old shop held a back-to-school giveaway this week, offering teachers from Portland and Westbrook public schools the chance to take anything off the shelves free of charge.
The response was immediate. Dozens of educators and students stopped by the store Tuesday morning to collect notebooks, binders, pens and pencils. Among them was Christine Boudreau, a math teacher at Deering High School, who filled a denim tote with supplies and could hardly contain her enthusiasm.
"I'm so excited right now," Boudreau said. "It's a sad moment to benefit from, but it's so appreciated."
The shop was founded by the late Joe Wigon in 1932. His daughter, Sally Wigon, has owned and operated the business since 1951. Now 106 years old, Wigon continues to run the store with help from family members and friends, though she was unable to attend this week's giveaway. In an email, she reflected on decades of service with characteristic generosity.
"I've loved every year of this," Wigon said. "If these supplies can help even one teacher get their classroom ready, that's the best way I could ask to put them to use."
The giveaway was organized jointly by Wigon and her landlord of 50 years, J.B. Brown & Sons, another longtime family-owned business in Portland. Tuck O'Brien, president of J.B. Brown, said the partnership felt like a fitting farewell.
"Sally and her family built something that meant more to this city than office supplies," O'Brien said. "Wigon Office Supplies is a true institution. We wanted to celebrate that legacy by putting it to good use through our teachers."
Margaret Busby, a family friend, helped oversee the event. The first session ran Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon, with a second session scheduled for Wednesday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
"It's a hard ending because it was her father's store," Busby said. "There's some sadness, but [Wigon] has also said that it's time."
The shop's longevity is remarkable. It weathered the Great Depression and the COVID-19 pandemic, operating for years on a remarkably old-fashioned model — three days a week, Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., without ever adopting credit card payments or computerizing its systems.
That commitment to tradition made Wigon Office Supplies a rarity in an era of big-box retailers and e-commerce, and it earned the devotion of generations of Portland customers.
The Free Street Block where the shop is located is owned by J.B. Brown, a company founded in 1830 that now holds 2.8 million square feet of commercial real estate across Portland, South Portland, Westbrook and Bangor. Other tenants in the block include El Rayo Taquería, Pinecone and Chickadee gift shop, and Arabica Coffee Co.
O'Brien said he expects to find a new tenant for Wigon's space by late fall, though filling the storefront will be no simple task.
"We have a pretty robust group of tenants in this block," he said.
For Boudreau and her fellow teachers, however, Tuesday morning was about more than real estate transactions or business transitions. It was a chance to walk away with practical tools for the coming school year — and to mark the closing chapter of a Portland original.
As Wigon herself put it, the supplies could not be in better hands.
