As many times as I've thrifted in the Ephrata area I never heard of this store. I had earmarked another thrift store a few doors up called Revive and while walking there I stumbled upon this one. The window displays were nice and festive, and since the metered parking was bagged off and free it left me time to explore.
Inside an older couple at the register greeted me warmly. I'm assuming this is their store. However the horrid smell of unknown origin smacked me in the face. I can't even find the words or anything to compare it to. It nearly took my breath away and lingered throughout the store.
The store had some displays but nothing as nice as the windows and for the most part was set up utilitarian with merchandise on racks and shelves. Everything was used for sure. I'm not sure if they are a for profit thrift store or a consignment shop, but I got the impression that inventory isn't rotated often. They could definitely use some help with visual merchandising.
I browsed through the children's clothing and did see a few nicer pieces but the majority was dated and had signs of wear. I felt pricing was very high for the quality with most single pieces priced $4.90 or higher for Walmart brands. With the exception of the cheaper items in the back everything was priced ending in .90 cents.
Exploring the store further I did find some inventory on racks and shelves with yard sale prices - .50 cents to $1.00, etc. For most of these items it was obvious why things were priced so low. I did find a few vintage hand towels in perfect condition in one of the .50 cent bins that looked better than any of the higher priced linens on the racks.
Departments were small and most of the store square footage was roped off in the back. They had a few larger furniture pieces that were decent but expensive for what they were. Aside from clothing, yarn was the second largest section with tons of mostly opened or loose yarns. Housewares were very skimpy. I did see a nice pair of boots (see pic) but nothing else was worth a second glance.
The clerks however were very nice. They had a makeshift shield up made of plastic wrap and duct tape, it didn't look nice but at least they made the effort. They also had hand sanitizer at the register. I'm really surprised considering the location in downtown Ephrata that they draw enough business to pay the rent in such a desirable location. I could not wait to get out and escape the smell.
Normally the parking is metered on the street but for whatever reason the meters were bagged and free. Not sure if it's because of the season, the weekend, or covid. It's a main road in the heart of downtown. The spaces are slanted so you need to back out which is hard to do with such heavy traffic. However there's lots of cool little shops over 2 blocks that are easily walk-able and worth checking out. read more