Port Angeles St. Vincent de Paul Closing
After twenty-one years in business, St. Vincent de Paul thrift store will be closing on December 31st. They've been at 112 East 8th St.
That location will be taken over by Peninsula Mental Health. They might turn the location into a crisis center or health clinic.
Store manager Barb Townsend said sales have been in decline for the past six years.
That location will be taken over by Peninsula Mental Health. They might turn the location into a crisis center or health clinic.
Store manager Barb Townsend said sales have been in decline for the past six years.
Labels: St. Vincent de Paul Port Angeles
posted by Tom Harper at 1:03 AM
27 Comments:
It doesn't surprise me, but I am sorry to hear it.
You see, I love browsing through thrift type stores. But the problem with this one is that it doesn't have very much good stuff to look at. To be honest I don't hardly go in there myself. I used to go in there years back, but have lost interest, lots of times your looking at the same things, they don't have a real good turn over. I think that is a big reason they have lost customers. I'm sorry to hear it, because the store was there for a good reason- to help those in need, but as said in the article, they were barely making enough to just keep it in operation. When that's the case you mise well close.
I did really like the old Salvation Army store when it was downtown, it was a good size and had good thing to browse at from time, I think they closed for a similar reason, I could imagine it was hard enough for them to just pay for being in the building.
Everyone pretty much all goes to Goodwill because of their huge variety of things to look through, and it's such a big store, even though their prices may be a little higher. It doesn't help St. Vincent to be just right around the corner from them.
I'm sorry to hear that, it wasn't as nice a store as Goodwill but the prices were better and I always went there before going to Goodwill.
I hope that the Serenity House thrift store is doing okay, I wouldn't like to see them close also.
The Salvation Army screwed up when they moved their store downtown, it didn't last long there.
I've got an idea that some may not like, but after the new Rite Aid opens someone should put a thrift store right next to Goodwill, that could be a thrift store mall.
The hookers wouldn't have to wander all over town to different areas for their outfits, ha ha ha ha.
More "government" bailout for the community. What would the area do without taxpayer money?
good. Store manager had no skills what-so-ever. Store stunk. Smelled like old lady smokers and dirt. Stuff was poorly sorted, poorly displayed, too much broken and crappy junk.
It was crap when downtown, crap when it was in the previous location, and crap when it moved to the "dirty" building. Nothing was ever kept clean (the parking lot was a mess). The building was an unattractive bunker. Not a place set-up to be retail, by people who had no idea of what retail is all about.
Of course Goodwill kicked their butts! Goodwill has been using the "retail store" model. They expect their employees to dress to standards, to be professional, and they expect a high level of cleanliness in the stores. Clothing that is dirty, stained or otherwise "not marketable" are put in the rag bin. They work from a central distribution point where donations are sent out to the hubs. (Meaning, someone walking into the local store may be finding merchandise that was donated in Everett, or Seattle.)
Meanwhile, St Vincent seemed to just display the Walmart low-brow, broken and stained junk that was donated by people in this area.
I'm sorry...but they stuck to the OLD model of business....and they weren't very aggressive about cultivating new areas for donations (estate sales, soliciting in the community, or any marketing at all). It's pretty tough to go out of business when your product costs NOTHING, and you are underwritten by a large national concern. You have to really NOT be very good at business.
Good riddance!
(Meaning, someone walking into the local store may be finding merchandise that was donated in Everett, or Seattle.)
As I understand it, they have a policy of sending things, especially clothes, out of the area so that your neighbor doesn't end up buying your dress that you donated.
I will assume that clothes donated here often go to other areas also. But I'm not sure of that.
So a man walks into his buddies house wearing a tee shirt that says, "IT'S NOT A BEER BELLY, IT'S A FUEL TANK FOR A SEX MACHINE."
And his buddy says, "Hey, I just donated that to Goodwill yesterday."
Ha ha ha ha.
Goodwill gets their stuff from outside the area? Lucky us. I went to Goodwill not too long ago. it seemed really expensive. I could go to Walmart and buy a new pair of shorts for 5 bucks or to Goodwill for 4. Hmmm. A used raggy tee should be 50 cents, not 2 bucks.
I wonder if Goodwill is that expensive elsewhere or just out here. Anyone know?
RIP St. Vincent de Paul. Sad to see charity of any sort go away.
BBC - your jokes must be the Insider sort or old people humor. I don't get it.
the theory is that yeah, you won't see your t-shirt/dress/sweater on someone in your area, however, the REAL reason is that they send clothing that SELLS to a particular area. So, you'd send women's business suits to somewhere where women wear business suits, the grande size to places where there are a lot of big people, and chic/trendy stuff where there are colleges. After all, the reality of the demographics of THIS area is mostly families, older/retired. Not much call for business suits OR mini-skirts. More 'sedate' clothing, and larger sizes.
Ahh, the ART of marketing cast-off clothing. Meanwhile, none of this happens at St Vincent OR Serenity House in Sequim.
I hear that the Rite Aid drug store got robbed for drugs this morning.
Yea team, go monkeys, rah rah rah
The building housing St. Vincent was never intended to be a retail store, in any way, shape or form.
It was originally built in the 1960's to house the Woodworking and Cabinetry Plant for Nailor Lumber Co. where kitchen cabinets and other wood based products were built.
Nailor Lumber Co. was a Port Angeles business owned and operated by Ernie Nailor for a little over a quarter of a century, catering to the needs of the builder, big or small.
Zoe, maybe you wouldn't get George Carlin either?
Zoe,
I guess it just matters if you care about your community or if you are just a godless, soul-less consumer.
I won't (EVER) shop at Walmart!. I don't like sending my money to China. I don't like the way they treat their employees. I don't like the way they rape the community they're in (insisting on reduced tax rates, undermining local business, and our personal Walmart...for building a too-small septic system..so when it rains a lot, sewage washes across the road into Morse Creek -- haven't you ever notice the septic truck there several times a week in the wet season...took them years to do that. Why do you think they want to move 'across the street' and let someone else deal with their white elephant?)
I don't shop Walmart. I'd rather spend $4.00 buying a pair of shorts at Goodwill, than spend $3.00 at Walmart adding to the landfill, the trade deficit, and sending my money OUT of the area.
Poor Zoe. She seems to keep putting her foot in it, no matter what the topic.
Walmart has no unions.
Unions are evil.
Walmart is good.
Typical "conservative" mindset.
I don't care where you spend your money, some of it is going to China or other countries, that's life these days accept it.
I shop at Walmart, not that I spend a hell of a lot of money anywhere. Not because I think they are wonderful in some ways cuz they're not, but they do employ some of us and the ones I've talked to are okay with working there so just be thankful for the jobs I guess.
In this age if you want all your products made in America you had better figure how to make twice the income you are.
Just saying.
I'm 66 years old, and recall having toys make in Japan, with tin cans from America. When you took them apart the labels were still on the inside.
Times were hard for many back in the late 40's and early 50's, were it not for toys from Japan many of us wouldn't have had toys.
And the lead in them was delicious, didn't 'click' hurt 'click', us 'click' a 'click' bit, ha ha ha.
After all, we're all fucking brilliant, ha ha ha
So, to change the topic, I read that Wharton has conceded defeat.
What I think is really telling in her defeat is that the other candidates that won (other than Wharton's opponent, Nelson)are all people who have very similar social/political views as she does. So, why didn't they vote for Betsy?
I think because Betsy never stood up for "alternative" she said she represented. She voted with the "old council" virtually every time, and she lost her supporters doing so.
I think she means well, but she thought she could be "moderate" and "reasonable", and build bridges to the Larry Williams/real estate conservatives. Of course, the "conservatives" have no use for her, and enough of her former supporters were dis-illusioned with her so as not to vote for her.
She seemed to say that her loss was due to her stopping her "door-belling" and other campaign work in respect for Nelson's family's loss. Maybe, but as Deputy Mayor, I think most voters recognized her name on their ballots.
Anonymous 5:27 I completely agree with your assessment of why Betsy Wharton lost. Her "change" mantra ultimately rang hollow with every vote she cast with the old council. Too bad for Betsy, but that the way the cookie crumbles when you don't work for the values your voters espouse.
I think she means well, but she thought she could be "moderate" and "reasonable", and build bridges.
I like to burn bridges behind me when it comes to politics.
Thats where Nailor was?!
I arrived after they must have gone out of business...but I still have some fine cabinets in my home made by them.
Solid, great work, and still beautiful.
It never makes sense to try and operate a retail store out of a warehouse. The place was a cave, with no windows, and you couldn't tell (by driving by) if it was open or closed. The problem when they were downtown was that they always had broken junk in the window, and the better stuff further back (where you couldn't see it). No window shopping!
Goodwill has some smart cookies who run the whole operation -- ex-big department store merchandisers. Once they came upon the concept of displaying clothing by colors, and some stores (not here, obviously) do big, extravagant window displays -- make them much more upbeat and attractive, and interesting to shop in.
It's different shopping second hand than "new". More of a challenge. More like fishing in a river or lake, instead of a stocked pond.
If you drop into Gay's Bakery today they will give you a free pack of cookies, and free donuts and coffee.
I just walked over there to get some for Helen.
She heard about it on KNOP
I have never enjoyed any Goodwill store. I always went to Vinnie's and Serenity House. Goodwill always smelled terrible and the clothing overpriced.
I too hate WalMart but it's the only place to get reasonably priced undergarments in town. I shop there because it's what we have and everywhere else has priced me out. I do go to Maurice's for their killer clearance racks and occasionally I have gone to Fashion Bug. Even when Gottschalk's was here I rarely shopped there. The salesclerks weren't very polite and I couldn't find anything that didn't look obnoxiously trendy and overpriced.
We lack so much in this town. This town is in a coma and it was long before the recession.
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