St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store celebrates grand reopening after expansive renovations
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store and Food Pantry officially reopened on Thursday with new renovations to the store showroom and shopping experience, thanks to community donations and volunteers.
Renovations to the thrift store include an additional 360 square feet of showroom space, which has allowed the store to double its clothing capacity. A new point-of-sale transaction system will also be installed at the store in October for easier inventory taking and sales tracking.
“I am hoping that this is going to help us increase our revenue in the thrift store,” said Beth Huston, manager of the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. “In the past, our revenue in the thrift store has been pretty small–enough to pay the bills and payroll and keep the building open–I’m hoping that we can increase the revenue enough to where we can supplement or augment the social services, which we’ve never been able to do.”
Along with the thrift store and weekly food pantry, St. Vincent de Paul also provides services like rent and utility assistance, medical bill assistance, and vouchers for free clothing and gasoline for people in need. The social services have been funded, primarily, through grants and private donations.
The store renovations were made possible by local businesses, like Acoustic Specialities Inc., which donated materials and labor to install a new wall, and volunteer workers from Construction Services Inc., the Knights of Columbus, and store staff.
For more information on St. Vincent de Paul’s services and thrift store hours, you can visit their website HERE.