The Source Unltd Print and Copy Shop celebrating 36 years on 9th Street

The Source Unltd Print and Copy Shop celebrating 36 years on 9th Street
[Manhattan Sideways. Photograph by Peter Nicholson]The Source Unltd Print and Copy Shop is celebrating its 36th year of business in the same East Village location over at 331 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. “We’re planning a series of events to celebrate sticking around for so long,” proprietor Santo Mollica told me in an email. (More on those events later.)Meanwhile, the shop that Mollica runs with his wife Margaret was the subject of a recent feature on Manhattan Sideways:Though Santo is always adapting his shop and adding new items, he says that “it’s really about the people, not the things.” The East Village veterans mentor retailers who are new on the street, and they have built relationships with customers from all walks of life. They have also been running a food drive in their store for over twenty years. “Sometimes people come in and give, other times they take,” says Santo.When we asked the couple, in early 2018, if they ever thought about retirement, even their dog Curtis looked amused. “Retirement? I don’t know what that means,” Margaret replied. Smiling, Santo added … “We work for ourselves. We love it. And we have to keep it up to survive. The neighborhood is always evolving, but we can’t think of a place we’d rather be.”The Source is also one of the businesses on this block taking part in the “shopping crawl” today from 4-7. (More details about that event here.)[Manhattan Sideways. Photograph by Peter Nicholson]Photos reprinted with permissionPreviously on EV Grieve:Honors for one of the most unique shops in the East Village