BY JENNIFER BAILEY
Commercial-News
DANVILLE —
Looking around Habitat for Humanity of Danville’s new ReStore, volunteer manager Bob Marble said “it’s going to be a work in progress for months to come.”
But shelves, walls and floor space in the main showroom already are full of couches, dining room tables and chairs, dinnerware, sinks, luggage, pictures, lighting, a roll-top desk, chests of drawers, Tupperware and numerous other household items. Another room has appliances.
“We’ve got a lot of community support already,” Marble said of the donated items.
Other ReStores also have donated items to get the Danville store started.
Price tags had yet to be put on each item, but Marble said the ReStore will be ready for its soft opening on Saturday.
“We’ll get it opened up and have income flowing in to pay for expenses,” Marble said about the building.
Plumbing and electrical work was needed and the sprinkler system was fixed, in addition to other building code work.
There still is a leaky roof, and there is no air conditioning. Fans and open doors provide breezes.
Marble said persons already have been stopping by the store.
One person already purchased a trunk and made an additional donation to Habitat, he said.
The ReStore is open to the public. It will accept only cash and checks initially. Also, the price tags on the items are non-negotiable and include sales tax.
“Everything is sold as is,” he said.
Marble is expecting a lot of walk-through traffic with the Walldogs murals being painted next week.
Marble added that the store could still use some more volunteers to unpack and clean items, and assist elsewhere.
One of the new volunteers is Ron Turner.
Turner said he’ll work at the store on Thursdays. He’s retired and has the time. He has a bad back, but says he can push the cash register buttons and place items on shelves.
Marble said a grand opening for the new store, which is the 13th ReStore to open in Illinois, will be Friday, Aug. 13. He said Habitat officials aren’t superstitious and will tie the 13 theme together.
The ReStore is a retail outlet for used furniture, appliances and other household items, building materials and other supplies. Anyone can donate items to Habitat, and Habitat will resell the items to raise funds to build more Habitat homes. Habitat hopes to build at least two additional homes a year with the ReStore funding, Marble said.
Items the store won’t accept: clothing, used toilets, mattresses and chemicals.
Marble said they would take sports uniforms, such as for Little League baseball or hockey, that another family could use.
The building has 10,000 square feet on the main floor and a full basement that also has about 10,000 square feet. It also has a loading dock.
Marble said the store will have different items every day as items are sold and other items come out of storage or are brought in.
FYI
Hours for the ReStore, 121 N. Walnut St. — the old Sears automotive store behind Heartland Center and the Commercial-News — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. The store will be closed Sunday through Tuesday.
The store’s phone number: 497-0004.
The cost to pick up donated items in the city is $10; outside the city, $20.
