City Mission rolls out new design for thrift stores
The new Hidden Treasures thrift store in North Strabane Township has a variety of furniture, clothes, shoes, accessories and home decor for sale.
Alisa McGant of Canonsburg rings up merchandise for Josh McMurdy, 7, and Mandi McMurdy of North Strabane Township at the new Hidden Treasures store in North Strabane. The store is located at 2510 Washington Road.
City Mission officials promise a different thrift-shopping experience with the newest Hidden Treasures store in North Strabane.
Located at 2510 Washington Road, the store is the first in a developing concept from the nonprofit Christian rehabilitation center, which also has stores in Washington, Canonsburg, Rostraver and Monongahela.
“We’re trying to select better merchandise and price it correctly,” said Joe Myers, chief financial officer and director of business enterprises. “The stores are cleaner. … They seem to be bright, warm and friendly.”
The mission has an aggressive plan to open as many as four similar outlets in the next year, targeting areas of Waynesburg, Greensburg and Uniontown. Existing stores will be retrofitted to mimic the design aesthetic of the North Strabane location.
“People come in and say this is a great-looking store – a department-store style that is neat, orderly, organized – and it doesn’t smell, which is a big deal,” Myers said. “The community has responded very well to the store and the concept.”
In addition to offering gently used furniture, clothes, home goods, jewelry, shoes, toys, books, records and refurbished mattresses, the shops also serve as collection spaces for donations from the community.
“It’s a very exciting time at the mission. The stores help us to rebound from the fire. The funds we get from the stores go back into the mission,” Myers said.
Mission headquarters, at 84 E. Wheeling St., Washington, are undergoing extensive rebuilding after a June 9 fire. Work is expected to be complete later this year.
In January, the mission opened 1941 Boutique, an upscale thrift store at 92 N. Main St., Washington. With the success of that debut, Myers said the plan is to open four similar boutiques in the Robinson Township, Cranberry Township and Upper St. Clair-Mt. Lebanon area.
“The money goes back to support the mission and programming,” he said. “The mission is a place where we can help to rehabilitate, retrain and restore people to independent living one step at a time.”
The North Strabane store is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.