By Sophia Mastice
For HDMedia
Cheryl Matthews was first in line at the grand opening of Goodwill’s newest Charleston location Thursday morning. Matthews filled her cart with a collection of decorative antiques, but her favorite find of the day was a vintage snow globe based on a scene from the film “Gone With the Wind.“
“My daughter’s name is Tara. She’s named after ‘Gone With The Wind,'” Matthews said, referring to the 1939 film. She plans on giving the snow globe to her daughter as a gift. Matthews has a booth at a merchant mall in South Charleston where she has resold antiques for 25 years. She’ll take some of Thursday’s purchases there.
Matthews was not the only person to find something special at Goodwill. More than 50 people — some who showed up nearly two hours early, as Matthews did — waited as store officials and local politicians cut the ribbon on the new venture.
Second-hand items and second chances
The new Goodwill store opened at 1603 Kanawha Blvd. W. in Charleston, which was the location of one of three Drug Emporium stores in West Virginia until July 2025. The new Goodwill store is larger than the previous Goodwill thrift store location at 209 Virginia St. W. in Charleston. The new space covers 27,000 square feet, according to Goodwill officials
Jamon Schmidt, vice president of communications for Goodwill Industries of the Summit, said the new location is an improvement on the Virginia Street store and will be good for Charleston’s community.
“We decided to move the [Virginia Street] store into a bin store, which gives us room for more second-chance items to come through our stores,” he said.
A bin store sells items that are donated, returned and/or overstocked from major retailers. Schmidt said shoppers there purchase items by the pound.
In addition to giving items a second chance, another part of Goodwill’s mission is to provide a second chance to people. Their Substance Use Disorder Transitional Employment Program is dedicated to helping people struggling with substance abuse to find employment at Goodwill stores. The new store will employ about 75 people, according to Goodwill Industries of Summit chief operation officer Lance Crossman.
Necessities and more
At the opening, shoppers found a variety of items, including clothing, shoes and home decor. On Thursday, the store had a large supply of second-hand items to choose from, including designer brands such as Coach, Kate Spade and Marc Jacobs.
Izzy Music, from Winfield, Putnam County, came to buy clothes for her boyfriend, Preston Canterbury.
As a regular Goodwill shopper, Music said she has a passion for thrifting, which she said is good for the community as well as the environment.
Music said she mostly thrifts for “clothes, shoes and purses, and sometimes pictures and art if I see [them].”
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