Salvation Army thrift store finds new space on Union Ave

LACONIA — It was unwelcome news, earlier this year, when the Salvation Army learned the location where their thrift shop had been for 14 years was sold and their lease wouldn’t be renewed. Now that a better location has been secured, that turn of events is looking more like a blessing in disguise.

The thrift store will continue to sell its current stock at its New Salem Street location through Saturday, Dec. 14, then close those doors for good. Sometime in January, it will re-open at its new address, 370 Union Ave., located across the street from Laconia High School and next to Sal’s Pizza.

Learning a move was needed caused great concern for church leaders.

“It was one of those crazy things that got sprung on us,” said Capt. Chris West who, along with his wife and co-Capt. Heather West, administers the local Salvation Army activities. Those programs include community service such as a food pantry and soup kitchen, a shelter, Christmas gifts and backpacks and cold weather clothing for children, and a free weeklong summer camp.

Finding a new home for the thrift store was a high-stakes challenge, because proceeds from the store make up at least half of the Salvation Army’s operating budget. The balance comes from the seasonal kettle drive, church offerings and donations.

“Without our thrift store, it really affects all the programs that Salvation Army runs for the community,” West said in an interview at his office on Tuesday morning. “We were looking at cutting if not eliminating many of the programs we run and that people rely on throughout the year.”

Finding the right space was a tall order. They sought somewhere with comparable square footage and rent to their prior location, someplace accessible to the community, and West said they hoped to find something at least in the city, if not walkable to downtown. In the end, they found somewhere which met or exceeded their hopes.

“We’re very pleased that we’ve got this [location], and that the thrift store is bigger and better,” West said.

The space on Union Avenue, which was previously home to Decorative Interiors, is around 12,000 square feet and about 50% larger than the New Salem location. It’s in much better condition — West said the current thrift store is prone to faulty heating, leaks and in one section has a collapsed roof. The Union Avenue space has a back loading entrance suitable for donation drop-offs, and a lower level that can be used for storage. Lastly, the new store will be located on one of the busiest roads in the city, providing much better visibility than they have currently.

West said the new store offers all of those benefits, while coming at a rental cost comparable to what they were paying on New Salem Street.

Securing the new location represents a reversal of fortunes for the organization. Whereas West was recently considering how to downsize operations to absorb the loss of thrift store revenue, he is now starting to think bigger, imagining what more the Salvation Army will be able to do.

“By getting this store, it allows us to not have any stops in the programs we’re running currently, it even allows us to look to do more programs in the community,” West said.

People who shop at the Salvation Army thrift store are likely attracted by the bargains. They might not realize how much their thrifty shopping goes to supporting community services. West said out of every $1 spent at their thrift store, at least $0.90 goes to services, and that no more than $0.10 pays for operating expenses.

West encouraged customers to continue shopping on New Salem Street — there’s an everything-must-go sale going on until they close on Dec. 14 — and the community continues to drop off donations they can use to make sure the new store is fully stocked when it’s ready to open.

West said donations of any sellable-quality goods are welcomed, but clothing seems to be the store’s bread-and-butter. The Salvation Army is particularly good at accepting textiles, he said. If clothing is too worn to be put up for sale, it’s sent to a central recycling facility, where it is turned into another useful commodity, such as carpeting or emergency blankets. That means that no clothing donated to the Salvation Army is diverted to the waste stream, and that every bit of it will generate revenue for their operations.

“For us to fill that store and that space, we are looking for good-condition clothing and stuff like that, for men, women and children,” West said.

He said the opening date for the new store will be “as soon as possible” in January.

“We’ve got a lot of great volunteers and staff members, they’re all eager to get into the new location. We’re working around the clock to make it happen."