After nearly a century serving the University of Utah, General Stores and Receiving has ceased operations and has implemented a new, virtual ordering system, where users can procure goods and services through UShop.

The change comes as part of a broader reimagining of campus space under the university’s redevelopment plan to create what President Taylor Randall calls “college town magic.” Part of this vision includes demolishing the Turpin Building—where General Stores resided—to create more on-campus housing for students.

General Stores served as the behind-the-scenes hub for ordering essential supplies that require a degree of control, like compressed gases, medical goods and tax-free ethyl alcohol. It also carried facilities-related equipment and an assortment of miscellaneous office supplies.

It can trace its roots back to the 1920s, with an original location on Presidents Circle.

“As the story goes, the store was essentially a large closet during those early days,” said Director of Purchasing and Supply Chain Mike Smith. “The store moved around a few times and ultimately settled into the Turpin Building in 1979.”

The scheduled demolition of the Turpin Building gave leaders in Financial Services the opportunity to reconsider how General Stores could best serve the campus moving forward. The decision was ultimately made to move to an online ordering model called Virtual Ordering.

“Virtual Ordering is the process of procuring goods and services through UShop, the university’s e-procurement system,” said Smith. Campus departments will still be able to purchase compressed gases from contracted service providers directly through the UShop portal.

A crucial aspect of this transition was finding a new home for General Store employees within Financial Services. Several have shifted their work to support UShop, while others have embraced new roles in the Travel Department, in Accounts Payable and on the FS Operations Team.

Though the physical presence of General Stores will be missed on campus, its legacy of providing top-tier service to customers will live on through Virtual Ordering.