Advice from a friend and a perceived need for pre-paid cellular service has led to a new business venture in downtown Tiffin.
K&C Cellular 1, 68 E. Market St., opened to customers March 14.
The name reflects ownership of the business - K is for Karl Elliott of Fremont, and C is for Carl Freeman of Tiffin.
Freeman said he was involved in a clothing business downtown, and Elliott said he operated a Kirby Vacuum distributorship. Both said they had ambitions to own a business.
The duo said they and met through a mutual friend who owns and operates three pre-paid cell phone businesses in northwest Ohio. Elliott and Freman said they realized there was no prepaid option for Tiffin residents. The idea for opening the store was born.
"We looked into Tiffin and saw that there was no prepaid, and no Page Plus here," Elliott said. "My friend has stores in Fremont, Norwalk and Bowling Green. Page Plus roams off of Verizon towers, unlike other prepaids, Page Plus comes in good here."
PagePlus offers nationwide coverage without a contract or credit checks, Elliott said.
The company is headquartered in Toledo and is similar to Boost, Elliott said, with better service and coverage. He said the business also offers Boost phones and service.
Customers may purchase minutes of voice, text or data as they go, and can rollover unused minutes for 120 days, the partners said. It also can be used with any Verizon phone - including Blackberry and Droid.
"We can also convert Alltel phones and some Sprint phones," Elliott said. "Page Plus provides their own phones, similar to Verizon and they carry up to date technology."
The owners said they plan on celebrating their grand opening soon but for now they are running a special on a new camera phone for $50 which is to include 120 free loaded minutes.
The duo said they hope to reach out to the community with flyers and word-of-mouth connections. They said they have been pleased with the response they have received with customers walking in the shop after noticing the signs.
Freeman said they also are to buy, sell or trade old cell phones, allowing customers to upgrade phones and services.
K & C Cellular 1 is open10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
