Why pay full price for the convenience of one-stop shopping when you remodel your home? From a doorknob to a complete set of kitchen and laundry appliances, Habitat Choptank’s ReStore in Easton can provide virtually everything you need when your home is due for a new look – at prices that are just a fraction of retail.
The ReStore concept is nothing new. Depending on whom you ask, it originated in Amarillo, Texas or Raleigh, N.C., in the early 1990s and has been replicated by many Habitat affiliates nationwide. There are now over 750 ReStores in North America.
The idea to sell new and gently used furniture, appliances and building materials in Easton took root on June 21, 2008, when Habitat held a yard sale at Paris Foods in Trappe. In a single afternoon, between $8,000 and $9,000 was raised. The folks at Habitat saw a potential revenue stream, and a seed was planted.
That seed blossomed in November of 2010, when Habitat Choptank opened the Restore at 8648 Commerce Drive in Easton. Lee Weldon has been ReStore’s manager since day one, and the only other paid employee is part-time Assistant Manager Chris Walls. Otherwise, the ReStore is staffed entirely by approximately 30 volunteers. Weldon says he always welcomes more.
All of ReStore’s merchandise is donated, some of it from as far away as Chestertown. Sources include individual donors; retailers like Lowe’s, Easton Hardware and Rommel’s Ace Hardware, clearing out discontinued merchandise; and contractors like West & Callahan, Ilex Construction and Willow Construction in Easton, and Lundberg Builders on Kent Island, who contribute old items and surplus from their projects. ReStore has even received furniture from the Best Western Motel in St. Michaels.
Thanks to its rapid turnover, ReStore quickly turns those donations into money. After covering its expenses, Nancy Andrew, Habitat Choptank’s executive director, estimates that ReStore raises between $20,000 and $25,000 for Habitat every three months. Since opening, proceeds from the ReStore have raised funds equivalent to the cost to build one complete Habitat home and half of another.
As noted above, the ReStore can sell you everything from a doorknob to a kitchenful of appliances. The items you’re most likely to find there include:
• Furniture, from the very utilitarian to “stuff that the antique dealers come in and fight over,” in Weldon’s words. “We’re very picky about upholstered furniture. We try to keep the quality of the furniture pretty high” to maintain ReStore’s street cred and maximize revenues. ReStore also handles a lot of office and patio furniture.
• Appliances, which are popular among rental property owners and families on a budget. “In addition to the standard stoves and refrigerators, we also get some very nice stuff from this community,” says Weldon. For example, one lucky customer bought a Viking commercial range that retailed between $8,000 and $9,000 for $3,500.
• Doors, which sell like the proverbial hotcakes. Most go for as little as $10, yet doors brought in $22,000 in 2012.
• Windows, flooring, plumbing fixtures, power and hand tools, general hardware, and some siding.
ReStore sells the occasional black swan, too. Extraordinary items that have passed through its doors include:
• An entire sauna
• Sub-Zero commercial refrigerators. The most unusual one came from a yacht.
• A black wrought iron chandelier, six feet tall and five feet in diameter. It carried a $3,000 price tag, and ReStore sold it for $600.
• An indoor waterfall
It’s well worth making regular visits to the ReStore, because you never know what you’ll find. “The inventory changes every day,” says Weldon.
Mark and Debra Silberstein found it worth their while to visit often. “We’re there every week,” says Debra. “We know their schedule.”
“It was our main place to shop,” adds Mark. “It has a lot to do with luck, because the stuff goes in and out so fast.”
The Silbersteins were very lucky, indeed. While rehabbing their house in Queen Anne, they purchased all their kitchen appliances and fixtures, from the sink to the side-by-side refrigerator-freezer, from ReStore. Ditto their washer and dryer. They spent $800. The same appliances would have cost them ten times as much at retail. ReStore was also their go-to source for studs, kitchen stools, chairs, a gas fireplace, kitchen and upstairs bathroom windows, brand new doorjambs, tools, a toolbox, a leaded-glass front door, vanities, three toilets ($2,400 retail, $135 at ReStore), light fixtures, and even Christmas decorations.
“It’s a good cause,” says Mark, and “To be able to recycle stuff that’s in fine condition is great.”
“Everybody in the ReStore is really sweet,” says Debra. “There’s always a good spirit when you’re there.”
Sandy and Marge Coyman got lucky, too. When they remodeled their 1920s bungalow in Easton, they were like two kids and the ReStore was their candy store. They purchased windows, blinds, doors (pocket, French and five-paneled), frosted-glass lampshades, light fixtures, a bookcase, a Duncan Fyfe table, cabinet knobs, drawer pulls, an oriental rug, a couple of cabinets, a framed still life, and between 20 and 30 pieces of wooden furniture that Marge plans to paint or refinish.
“I go there every week,” she says.
Weldon is proud that ReStore always has something new to keep its customers coming back. To keep its inventory fresh, he says the ReStore is always in need of appliances and furniture in good condition, and all manner of home improvement materials.
“If you have stuff lying around in the garage,” he says, “we’re happy to take it off your hands.” Donations are accepted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. The ReStore truck, sponsored by Capital One Bank, will even pick up items that donors are unable to bring in. However, there are a few things the store won’t accept: tube televisions, used shower doors, open paint cans and bedding, for instance. A list of acceptable items is available at the Habitat Choptank website, www.habitatchoptank.org.
Habitat Choptank’s ReStore is open from 10-6 Wednesday-Friday; 8-4 Saturday; and closed Sunday-Tuesday. A Spring Open house is scheduled for Saturday, April 20. Doors will open at 8 a.m. with special promotions planned throughout the day.
To contact the ReStore, telephone 410-820-6186 or e-mail Lee Weldon at [email protected].
By: Peter Howell
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