A few, though, have strolled in with packages in tow ready to ship their items.

Tan Time is, after all, in the former U.S. Post Office at 526 E. Fourth St. From 1962 to 2010 it was home to the local postal service. Though the current post office has operated for three years on Laming Road, Knipp said she’s taken a few requests for mailing needs.

“It’s nice to know you’re part of something that had been downtown for a long time,” Knipp said.

It’s also easy to give customers directions.

“Where the post office used to be,” Knipp said of her simple response to inquiries. “Everyone knows where the post office used to be.”

The location is nice, but Knipp said the space is what sold her and her husband, Randy Knipp, on expanding their business.

Tan Time formerly was a block east in a 700-square-foot storefront. The business now has four times the space in the current 2,800-square-foot location. Knipp worked in retail for several years, including most recently at Nebraska Furniture Mart, before opening her business last fall. Tan Time moved to its new spot in June.

“There was really no room for customers to be comfortable,” Knipp said. “We needed to add more beds just to be able to get customers in and out in a reasonable amount of time.”

Knipp said the business has expanded from three tanning beds at the former locale to five in the 500 block of Fourth Street. She hopes to add a couple more eventually.

She also sells clothing and jewelry, as well as body wraps and health products.

Knipp has two part-time employees who help during heavier business seasons.

Moving to the new location couldn’t have come at a better time because this is the slow time for tanning.

But with Tonganoxie High School homecoming around the corner in October and people preparing for trips to warmer places during the winter months, she anticipates traffic to increase.

Tan Time is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Fridays and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays.