By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
On Tuesday, patrons of the Carrboro PTA Thrift Shop were lined up outside the store before it opened, patiently waiting to get inside to see what donated goods lined the shelves.
However, these customers weren’t waiting outside at the PTA’s familiar concrete-block and mural-painted building off Jones Ferry Road; instead, they were lined up in front of the former Red Hen space on West Weaver Street, the site of the PTA’s Thrift Shop’s new temporary home.
“It’s a sweet little space,†executive director Barbara Jessie-Black said. “ It looks nice and is very inviting.â€
The small home converted to retail building at 201 W. Weaver St. is what the Carrboro PTA Thrift Shop will call home for the next nine to 11 months. After 34 years in the same location, the thrift store is temporarily relocating so construction can begin on a major redevelopment project.
The project includes tearing down the current structure to construct two new buildings. One multi-story building will house the PTA Thrift Shop’s retail space, donation and processing area and administrative offices, increasing the store’s retail space.
The other building will be leased out, with revenues from the lease being donated to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, along with the rest of the PTA’s net profits. The PTA Thrift Shop has donated $7 million to the schools since 1952.
While the new space may be smaller than the previous 10,000-square-foot location, at around 1,500 square feet, Jessie-Black said they’re making the best of the small space and using every square inch to its full potential.
Two rooms are dedicated to books and electronics, one room to furniture and knick-knacks and the last room in the store serves as the administrative office, which is being shared by four people.
“It’s a good thing we get along so well,†Jessie-Black said.
Because they had to downsize significantly, the shop had a big moving-out sale over the past month.
“It was pretty phenomenal. We sold pretty much every stitch. If it wasn’t nailed down or a fixture of some sort, we were selling it,†Jessie-Black said.
Additionally, due to limited space in the new building, Jessie-Black said they are not accepting donations at the Carrboro location and instead have increased donation hours at their Chapel Hill location, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Although the space on Weaver Street is slightly less visible than the Jones Ferry location, Jessie-Black said she doesn’t anticipate a major drop-off in customers, pointing to opening-day turnout as proof.
“We had about 30 people in here at one time today, which is a pretty big deal for a space as small as this,†she said on opening day.
She also said multiple people stopped by simply to offer congratulations on the move and give their well wishes for the store’s success.
“Our goal is to make this as fun a place as we possible can,†Jessie-Black said, “and to really invite people to come and check us out on a regular basis, just like they did at our old location.â€
Construction on the redevelopment project is expected to begin in October.