Goodwill moving to Colegate
By CONNIE CARTMELL, Special to The NewsMARIETTA - The new Goodwill Industries store off Colegate Drive won't be as convenient for Patty Lang of Marietta, but she said she'll shop there.
"It's out of my way, pretty much," Lang said. "Maybe I won't go there as often, but I'll be there."
With Saturday's closing, there is no Goodwill downtown on Front Street.
"It's been here forever, as long as I can remember. I've been coming here 15 years at least," Lang said.
Goodwill opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday at a new and more spacious location at the corner of Colegate and Academy drives, in the lower and expanded Wieser and Cawley Furniture building.
Instead of 3,500 square feet of floor space used on Front Street, there will be 8,000 square feet with room for future expansion, said Cindy Caldwell, with Goodwill Industries corporate offices in Zanesville.
Caldwell is coordinating the transition team in Marietta.
"I know the new location isn't going to be popular with some of our downtown shoppers, but it will be a lot more convenient for everyone," she said. "The store is much larger and there is lots more parking."
New hours have been stretched to 6:30 p.m. to give people getting off work time to shop. The store is open 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily and Saturday and noon to 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
A drop-off area is designated near the front doors of the building.
"Everything is more accommodating for customers and the community," Caldwell said.
A thrift shop in the traditional sense, Goodwill Industries helps provide employment and training to its employees, she said. Job training is part of the package, along with workforce development programs.
"In my 14 years with Goodwill, I have learned a lot. They do a tremendous job helping the disabled and the disadvantaged," Caldwell said.
At the new store, the first thing shoppers will notice is the space. It feels like a department store. Experts say that with a difficult economy and rising gas prices, thrift stores throughout the country are gaining new customers and greater respect.
"I have found absolutely marvelous things here over the years," Lang said. "I once found a bread machine for 99 cents and it works perfectly."
She also found a copier/printer for $4.50.
Gail Taylor, 50, drives from north of New Matamoras and is a longtime shopper.
"I buy a lot of books and some clothing," Taylor said.
Women's clothing is top seller at Goodwill, Caldwell said.
Steve and Becky Johnson of Walker, W.Va., and their two children, Steven, 16, and Hannah, 12, shopped at the downtown store Friday.
"I find nice stuff," Becky Johnson said. "The kids actually bring us here."
Steven Johnson looks for books, old movies and games.
"It's stuff you can't find anyplace else," he said.
