Grand opening for Edmonton MCC Thrift Shop

Donita Wiebe-Neufeld | Alberta Correspondent
The new Edmonton MCC Thrift Store is located at 12343 149th Street, Edmonton. (Photo by Wally Friesen)

On Sept. 1, 2018, the Edmonton Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Thrift Shop held the grand opening for its new location at 12343 149th Street. In a busy area across from a Costco, the new location includes extra space for sorting and storage, as well as a larger display area, while cutting previous rental costs in half.

Joyce Doran, Thrift Shop coordinator for MCC Alberta, helped with some busy last-minute preparations before the celebration. “I congratulate the staff and all the volunteers in the work they took on with these huge renovations,” she said. “The change from Aug. 1 to Sept. 1 was astounding!”

Store manager Edmund Lee was pleased with the opening event. “We had about 350 customers come through the door,” he said. “Sales were good. We made more than $4,500.” Opening a new location, however, has presented significant challenges beyond transforming a dirty warehouse into an attractive store.

In the first month, during the “soft opening,” Lee dealt with continual internet connection issues, system glitches and equipment breakdowns. On opening day, everything worked until noon, and then the system crashed because of the volume of sales. The staff, with their month of breakdown experience, were able to work around the issues. The store looks forward to serving the needs of its new community as well as providing funds for the work of MCC.

The new Edmonton MCC Thrift Store is located at 12343 149th Street, Edmonton. (Photo by Wally Friesen)

Thrift store manager Edmund Lee, left, and staff person John Francis work the till as approximately 350 customers made the Edmonton store location’s grand opening a success. (Photo by Wally Friesen)

Board member Gordon Baergen entertains the crowd in the entrance of the new Edmonton MCC Thrift Store during its grand opening celebration on Sept. 1, 2018. (Photo by Wally Friesen)

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