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“The puzzles are still flowing,” Nordmeyer said. “Most of our distributors are still delivering puzzles to us, and we are happy to help.”
Carol Glazer, president of Ceaco, one of the largest manufacturers of jigsaw puzzles and board games in the U.S., told National Public Radio last week that strong sales since the pandemic and stay-at-home orders started had depleted inventory.
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"It didn't take long for the shelves to bare, the e-commerce dried up, nobody had puzzles," Glazer told NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
But Nordmeyer says he has plenty of puzzles in stock and ready for local pickup or delivery.
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Customers can browse the Puzzles Plus inventory on its web site and place an order by either calling 937-956-6300 or emailing puzzlesplus@gmail.com. Orders can be delivered, or picked up curbside at the store at 4465 Glengarry Drive near the cinemas at The Greene Town Center. The other Puzzles Plus store, at 1273 N. Fairfield Road in the Fairfield Plaza, is closed for now due to the pandemic.
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In addition to jigsaw puzzles of all skill levels, some with several thousand pieces, Puzzles Plus offers brain-teaser books, board games, puzzle books, children’s puzzles and more.
Nordmeyer said the store also offers a “Puzzle-It-Forward” program in which customers can bring in a used jigsaw puzzle and obtain a discount toward a new puzzle. The used puzzle is then donated to schools, hospitals and other institutions that can use them.
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The Nordmeyers are the third owners of Puzzles Plus, which was founded in 1995 by Brian and Sandy Woodruff. The Nordmeyers opened the second location at The Greene in 2018.
The stores are a labor of love. On many days, Nordmeyer posts a "brain teaser" on the Puzzle Plus Facebook page, and last week, he hosted a "Virtual Scavenger Hunt" of sorts with a prize of a $25 gift certificate.
For more information, go to puzzlesplus.net or call 937-956-6300 or email puzzlesplus@gmail.com.
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