Ye Olde Thrift Shoppe is open for business

Ye Olde Thrift Shoppe, run by the Crest Forest Senior Citizens Club, reopened for retail business on Memorial Day weekend. All shoppers are required to wear a face mask and are given hand sanitizer when entering the store, to decrease the chance of virus transmission.

While the store was closed for eight weeks, all the employees still continued to work in the store. The interior walls were painted, the merchandise was re-evaluated and rearranged. New displays were created and the entire store upgraded wherever necessary. This gave all the employees income during the shutdown, so they could continue to pay their bills.

These monies came from previous income generated by the business and may decrease the number of donations the club will be able to make this next year. The Thrift Shoppe supports the senior nutrition program and club overhead. The nutrition program during the shut-down has changed into a grab-and-go program, instead of a sit-down luncheon at the San Moritz Lodge, and has been expanded from six-times a month to three-times a week.

The newly opened Ye Olde Furniture Thrift Shoppe, which opened only one month before the close-down, is located next door to the longtime clothing and appliance store. Over 100 customers came into the stores each day over Memorial Day weekend.

The Thrift Shoppe is now able to accept donations but store manager Marci Collier said, “We are accepting only two bags of donations of clothing and other items per person per day so the store’s workers are not overwhelmed. We know everyone cleaned out their closet while staying at home.”

Ye Olde Thrift Shoppe is located in the Top Town section of Crestline, at 235454 Crest Forest Drive. The stores are open Tuesday through Sunday.