CHAPPELLS — In Newberry County can you get a soda and chips and mail a package in less than five minutes as Horne’s General Store in Chappells becomes the first Village Post Office (VPO) in the Greater South Carolina District.

Owner Ravi Kulmar now welcomes postal customers to the Chappells VPO, located in Horne’s General Store at 377 Highway 39, about 15 miles west of Newberry.

A ribbon cutting event will celebrate the grand opening at 2 p.m. Thursday.

Horne’s will dedicate a counter inside its business to postal services for customer convenience, featuring seven-day access, with hours from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

The U. S. Postal Service’s latest development in alternate access, VPOs have been operating within businesses across the country since July 2011 as a way to increase access to postal products and services in rural communities.

VPOs offer a range of popular products and services — the ones most used by customers — including post office boxes, Forever stamps, pre-paid priority mail, flat rate envelopes and a mail collection box.

Located inside established businesses and other places consumers already frequent, VPOs offer U.S. Postal Service customers time-saving convenience, and in most cases, longer hours than regular post offices.

The first VPO opened in Malone, Wash., in August 2011.

Additional information about Village Post Offices, including the list of 100 VPOs, can be found at www.usps.com/villagepostoffice.