Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego's thrift stores teeter

Rescue Mission, Father Joe's Villages, Auntie Helen's, Goodwill, Amvets cast about for answers

Father Joe's Villages."We are struggling with employment issues."
Father Joe's Villages."We are struggling with employment issues."

Major nonprofit thrift stores in San Diego have been around for decades. Then along came Covid and took its toll.

Two longtime San Diego Rescue Mission thrift stores (North Park and City Heights) closed down. A website sentence states: “Our thrift stores permanently closed on September 27, 2021.” No explanation was provided.

Goodwill doesn't own their Hillcrest location.

The Rescue Mission’s North Park space will become a divided-up, salon-rental business called Broadway Salon Studios like the Hive in Hillcrest.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Regular thrift shoppers in Hillcrest are still Goodwill-hunting for bargains. Spokesperson Darlene Cossio said, “Although we are facing challenges filling open positions...our essential workers have made it possible.... We have seen more than a 20 percent increase (in donations)".

Closed Rescue Mission thrift will become salon spaces.

Joe Scatena is director of retail operations at Father Joe’s Villages. Their Hillcrest thrift store (1457 University Ave.) was formerly a Baras Foundations thrift shop.

Scatena: "We are struggling with employment issues. We are using alternative staffing methods, such as return-to-work agencies.”

I visited Father Joe’s store October 11, and an employee told me they are “staying busy.” But according to Father’s Joe’s 2020 financials report, only 8 percent of revenue comes from “goods donations and thrift stores.”

Alliance for African Assistance, Safari Seconds Thrift Store in North Park may be on borrowed time. That store relies on a tiny staff plus volunteers.

A source told me they’ll eventually move out, as the landlord will likely sell the building. Located at 2875 El Cajon Blvd., it’s ripe for redevelopment; a craft beer company will open next door.

Assistance League of San Diego is at 108 University Ave. Marketing chair Mary McBride told me, “We have had problems filling staff as we are all retired women, and we cut our open days from Wednesday to Saturday, 11-3. We have managed, however, to make a profit for our philanthropies.”

Rod Legg, executive director at Auntie Helen's in North Park said they’re now “operating as a super sidewalk sale to keep shoppers, staff and volunteers safe.” He explained their new service: “Our mission evolved [from just a laundry service] during the pandemic to feeding 1600 families per week with free groceries.”

Amvets has a popular outlet at 3441 Sutherland St., just off Pacific Highway. Mike Bledsoe, operations manager, told me that “our stores are hanging in there with all the changes over the last two years.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in
Next Article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Father Joe's Villages."We are struggling with employment issues."
Father Joe's Villages."We are struggling with employment issues."

Major nonprofit thrift stores in San Diego have been around for decades. Then along came Covid and took its toll.

Two longtime San Diego Rescue Mission thrift stores (North Park and City Heights) closed down. A website sentence states: “Our thrift stores permanently closed on September 27, 2021.” No explanation was provided.

Goodwill doesn't own their Hillcrest location.

The Rescue Mission’s North Park space will become a divided-up, salon-rental business called Broadway Salon Studios like the Hive in Hillcrest.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Regular thrift shoppers in Hillcrest are still Goodwill-hunting for bargains. Spokesperson Darlene Cossio said, “Although we are facing challenges filling open positions...our essential workers have made it possible.... We have seen more than a 20 percent increase (in donations)".

Closed Rescue Mission thrift will become salon spaces.

Joe Scatena is director of retail operations at Father Joe’s Villages. Their Hillcrest thrift store (1457 University Ave.) was formerly a Baras Foundations thrift shop.

Scatena: "We are struggling with employment issues. We are using alternative staffing methods, such as return-to-work agencies.”

I visited Father Joe’s store October 11, and an employee told me they are “staying busy.” But according to Father’s Joe’s 2020 financials report, only 8 percent of revenue comes from “goods donations and thrift stores.”

Alliance for African Assistance, Safari Seconds Thrift Store in North Park may be on borrowed time. That store relies on a tiny staff plus volunteers.

A source told me they’ll eventually move out, as the landlord will likely sell the building. Located at 2875 El Cajon Blvd., it’s ripe for redevelopment; a craft beer company will open next door.

Assistance League of San Diego is at 108 University Ave. Marketing chair Mary McBride told me, “We have had problems filling staff as we are all retired women, and we cut our open days from Wednesday to Saturday, 11-3. We have managed, however, to make a profit for our philanthropies.”

Rod Legg, executive director at Auntie Helen's in North Park said they’re now “operating as a super sidewalk sale to keep shoppers, staff and volunteers safe.” He explained their new service: “Our mission evolved [from just a laundry service] during the pandemic to feeding 1600 families per week with free groceries.”

Amvets has a popular outlet at 3441 Sutherland St., just off Pacific Highway. Mike Bledsoe, operations manager, told me that “our stores are hanging in there with all the changes over the last two years.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief
Next Article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader