New Thrift Store opens in Eatonville

By Bruce A. Smith

A new, full-scale thrift store opened in Eatonville last Friday. Sponsored by the Eatonville Family Agency (EFA), the store occupies the former Sears/Christensen Furniture site on the corner of Center Street and Mashel Avenue.

Called the “Center Street Junction Thrift Store,” it is stocked with a huge assortment of new and used clothing, household goods, toys, books, tools and furniture. It is open daily, except Tuesday and Wednesdays, from 11 am until 7 pm – and that including weekends!

“We love it here,” said satisfied customers Johnnie and Crystal Wilson who, on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, were shopping for a few chairs and stools to fill their new home in Eatonville. “We’ve been browsing for almost two hours! We like to shop locally – keep our money local – and this is so unusual for Eatonville.”

Organized under the auspices of EFA director Alana Smith, the store will generate funds to enhance the agency’s food bank and other social services.

Although the store opened for business on Friday, May 25, its gala Grand Opening will occur in June. By the then, the store will have completed the finishing touches on a food court, replete with a salad bar, tacos, and baked potatoes with all the fixin’s. Already the outdoor patio furniture awaits hungry customers.

The Center Street Junction Thrift Store gratefully accepts donations of goods, and will receive them through the rear alleyway entrance. Contact staff for assistance.