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People who live due east of Marco’s equivalent Mason Dixon Line — Bald Eagle Drive — should perk up at the news that there’s a new post office in town.

More correctly, it’s known as a Contract Postal Unit (CPU), and it’s situated within a new card and curio store called Keep in Touch at the Shops of Marco plaza.

The addition of a CPU means less waiting in line, particularly in season when the main Post Office on Elkcam Circle sports lines out the door on any given day.

Store owners Mike Held and Jiri Nikulinec floated the idea in the wake of the closing two years ago of the Hallmark store, which also featured a CPU.

The connection is that Nikulinec was an integral part of the postal services offered by Hallmark, something that Held thinks stood a replacement CPU in good stead.

“We actually began the process before we took over the store here,” Held said. “We submitted a proposal (to the USPS in Tampa), and from there it went to Washington.”

Eventually, the application received the thumbs-up, and the CPU began operations on Aug. 1 at noon, coinciding with ribbon-cutting ceremony performed by ambassadors from the Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce.

The store specializes in greeting cards and curios, and also offers Internet access at a nominal rate of $2.25 for 15 minutes.

“It’s handy for people who want to pick up their e-mail messages,” Held said.

The Postal Unit can handle all services offered by the main Post Office, Held said, except mail pick-up. That remains a function of the main Post Office on Elkcam Circle.

CPU hours at the moment are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, with store hours one hour later during the high season.

During season, too, post office hours will be adjusted if necessary, Held said.

The opening created quite a stir at the center, with plenty of neighboring merchants turning out to wish Held and Nikulinec well in their venture.