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LAUREL — The doors are open and the cash register is ringing at Logan Creek Vintage Thrift.
The new Laurel store, which recently opened in the former Laurel flower shop building at 107 E Second Street, isn’t your typical small town business.
Every sale the business makes helps the Laurel economy, either through simply keeping the money local or through the donations the non-profit store will make to local groups and projects.
The store was established with the goal of helping Laurel in mind. The store is operated by volunteers and all profits the store raises will be donated to Laurel community organizations or events.
The store is Ashley Jelinek’s dream come true.
She worked hard to get the business set up as a 501C3 non-profit entity. She then worked to get the former Laurel flower shop in shape to operate as the thrift store.
The store should be a great addition to the community, she said.
“I saw other communities with similar stores. These other community- run thrift stores, they have done phenomenal things for their communities and have given back thousands and hundreds of thousands to their communities,” she said.
She wants to see Laurel succeed and she feels this store can really help.
“A store like this can bring people in from all over. People travel from all over to go to thrift stores looking for that special purchase,” she said. “The community thriving is important to me.”
A volunteer Board of Directors oversees the operation of the store and will also determine where its profits should be donated.
Jelinek urges area residents to support the store by both donating gently used items to it for resale instead of donating to a Goodwill or Salvation Army and by shopping at Logan Creek Vintage Thrift.
At this point, she said, the store is taking in anything if it is in good condition to see how it goes and what sells well.
“As of right now we are just seeing what people like to buy at thrift stores,” she said.
They will take furniture, books, clothing, toys, appliances, collectibles, just about anything, she said.
When a donation comes in the volunteers will make sure the item is clean, and in good working condition and then price it and put it out on the floor for sale.
The store is open Monday, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. It is closed on Wednesdays and on Sundays.
