Goodwill closes store on Carlyle Avenue and opens store on North Belt West in Belleville
Shoppers flocked to the new Goodwill thrift store on North Belt West in Belleville on Friday.
It was opening day, and the parking lot was packed. People stood in a steady line to pay for secondhand treasures, ranging from furniture to shoes, electronics to housewares, linens to men’s, women’s and children’s clothing.
“It’s very clean, and there’s a lot of variety,” said customer Diane Lindblad, 68, of Belleville.
She bought a red Cardinals baseball purse, Blues hockey coasters, a colander, flower pot, candle and glass candy dish shaped like a chicken.
Customer Becky Wisdom also commented on the store’s cleanliness and organization. By the time she left, her cart was overflowing.
“I’m a big thrift-store shopper,” said Wisdom, 60, of Marissa. “This is even how I do my Christmas shopping. Look at these ... They’re brand-new Carthartt bibbers, and they’re only $10. There is no better way to go.”
The new Goodwill store is at 5720 North Belt West in the Country Club Plaza strip mall, next to Schnucks supermarket and down from Skyview Drive-in.
It’s replacing the Carlyle Avenue location, which closed Sept. 28 after 15 years. That store also was next to a Schnucks, but the supermarket closed in March.
Goodwill employees on Carlyle transferred to the North Belt West location.
“I like it,” said dock worker Ray Smith, 36, of Swansea. “It’s a brand-new store in a different area. I like the way it looks, and the bathrooms are more modernized.”
The 12,000-square-foot space includes a 9,000-square-foot merchandise floor and 3,000-square-foot donation-processing center with sliding-glass doors in front for drop-offs. Cars can pull up and get employee help with unloading.
“This is the standard that we’re moving to,” said Kristy Lance, retail vice president for Metropolitan Employment and Rehabilitation Services (MERS) Missouri, the regional arm of Goodwill Industries. “The layout in the back is better. It’s bigger, and there are multiple docks.”
The Country Club Plaza space formerly was occupied by Dress Barn and Hallmark stores.
MERS sponsors a long list of employment and rehabilitation programs, which are funded with proceeds from thrift-store sales. Its mission is “Changing Lives through the Power of Work.”
“Last year, we served over 40,000 people,” Lance said.
