First & Second Thrift Store closes for the winter, prepares to move to a new location in the spring

 

With steep discounts of 75 percent off of merchandise, Frist & Second Thrift Store was a busy place last Saturday. People walked through the aisles of clothes and knickknacks and picked up things they might need, or, as one woman said to her girlfriends as she held up a dress, “I don’t need this, but at this price, I can’t go wrong.”

Helping the shoppers were Lois Johnson and Chris Silence.

Lois Johnson has been involved with the First and Second Thrift Store since its beginnings, more than 15 years of planning and working as a dedicated volunteer. She and Chris Silence worked the last shift ever at the longtime site of First & Second, the former Cobblestone Building on Highway 61 which closed on Saturday, December 31 at 1 p.m. The store will reopen next spring when the remodel of the former Birchbark Gift’s building in downtown Grand Marais is completed.

Voyageur Brewing purchased the Cobblestone Building and looks to expand its storage in the space occupied by First and Second and the former leased area Almost Home Appliance was in. Last summer the appliance store moved to 615 E. Highway 61. Two Birds Healing Arts Center and Studio Hair 61 will remain in the Cobblestone Building sold by Brian Olson to Voyageur Brewing owners Mike and Sue Prom and their business partners Bruce and Lee Walters.

Just before closing the First & Second Thrift Store in Grand Marais for a last time at its longtime site, Lois Johnson (L) and Chris Silence hugged for a picture. The store will reopen in May 2023, at a new location in Grand Marais. Staff photo Brian Larsen

Over the past 15 years the First & Second Thrift Store, a 501c3 non-profit all volunteer operation, has donated more than $850,000 to 37 nonprofits in Cook County. Last year 45 volunteers logged more than 4,000 hours and donated $110,000 to a wide array of community non-profits. Volunteers are “paid” per hour for their service and then donate that money to their favorite charity.

First & Second accepts donated items from the community and then resells them at a very affordable rate. During the closure, staff at First & Second are asking the public to set aside their gently used clothing and household goods to donate to the store for the re-opening next spring, which is tentatively set for some time in May.