Joe and Linda Greenstein, owners of Sir Speedy in York City, are retiring after 39 years and will close the print shops doors Friday. (Bill Bowden Photo)

After 17 years working as a fabric store manager, Joseph Greenstein became unemployed.

So, he took a risk and hired himself.

Joseph Greenstein bought a Sir Speedy franchise and operated it at the corner of Duke and Philadelphia streets in York City.

After 39 years, the business will close its doors for good at 5 p.m. Friday.

Joseph Greenstein, 76, and his wife, Linda, are retiring and have merged their business operations with Wolf Printing at 1200 Haines Road in Springettsbury Township. They also are referring their customers to Wolf.

Sir Speedy's buildings - including a structure built about 10 years ago for additional production space - are up for sale for $170,000 with Magic Marlon Real Estate, he said.

'Mixed feelings': "I have sort of mixed feelings," Joseph Greenstein said. "It's finally over, and that has a combination of sad and happy feelings.

"You put just about 40 years into it. It's kind of hard to say goodbye. We had a good relationship with our customers. We think of these folks as friends, and we'll miss them."

Over the years, Sir Speedy served law firms, engineering, and manufacturing companies and other local businesses.

However, business slowed for Sir Speedy as more companies began to purchase copier duplicators for office use and put manuals and other information on websites and compact discs, Joseph Greenstein said.

Then came the recession, and Sir Speedy struggled to avoid closing, he said.

"We put it off as long as we could and reinvested more capital, but things just didn't turn around for us," Joseph Greenstein. "I guess it was late last year we approached the folks from Wolf. We had a good relationship for a long time."

Transition : Both businesses also use the same computer software for order entry and estimating, he said. Sir Speedy has arranged for its phone calls to be forwarded to Wolf.

"(The Greensteins) have been friends and friendly competitors with us for years," said Barry Wolf, president of Wolf Printing. "We're also a local family-owned printer. We've got over 20 years of experience in the community. We welcome the opportunity to (serve) their customers."

Joseph Greenstein said he is not able to talk now concerning the employment future of the six Sir Speedy staff members, including his daughter Lonnie Bellenbaum. Wolf said no decisions have been made to receive Sir Speedy employees.

Joseph Greenstein said that he and his wife will be available to Wolf Printing to answer questions involving former customers.

"We want to help make the transition easier for our customers and Wolf," he said. "We'll do whatever we can to make our customers comfortable. We're not letting anybody hang out in the wind."

-Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com.