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On a recent rainy day, Carrie Holgerson was browsing in the
2,500- square-foot showroom of a store in Middle Island that many people
probably have never heard of.
"Some time this year, we're going to buy the house we are renting," she
said of her Ridge home. "And we need a lot of things."
Her sister, Laura Grasman of Selden, was with her, but she came with a more
specific mission - she needed a storm door. As she passed a display of deck
and fence stain, Grasman winced. "We just stained our fence and paid $25 for a
gallon. I just saw the same stain for $2 a gallon."
Welcome to the ReStore. It's more than a place for the budget-conscious to
find bargains. It's more than a place with a clever name. Operated by Habitat
for Humanity of Suffolk County, ReStore accepts donated surplus building
materials and supplies from contractors, distributors and homeowners, and sells
them - at discounted prices - to the public. The profits help Habitat for
Humanity build homes for low-income families.
"We get quality goods, the public gets discounted prices, and donations are
tax-deductible," said ReStore director Allan Kniess. "Everyone makes out."
"This store is perfect for people just starting out," Karen Winokur of
Rocky Point said as she browsed for cabinet hardware. "They have quality stuff,
and that's really good for people looking to save a buck."
Winokur and her husband, Sam, bought a pedestal sink from the ReStore
several months ago while they were remodeling a bathroom. The new sink cost
about half of what they would have paid at a home center or plumbing supply
store.
Like Holgerson, the Winokurs heard about the store from a neighbor. So far,
word-of-mouth advertising has been enough to get people coming. And the
savings keep customers coming back.
Imported Italian light fixtures that retail for $250 are discounted to $10.
Builders' grade caulk guns cost $1 each. Cabinet hardware goes for 50 cents
apiece. All types of building items can be found.
There are interior doors, exterior doors, windows and other larger items
stored in outdoor bins - even Corian countertops, bathroom sinks and plumbing
fixtures. Doors usually are sold by the inch - a 36-inch-wide interior door
costs $36; add $10 to $15 for exterior doors. Most of the items are new; others
are in "like-new" condition.
Kniess patterned the Suffolk store after Habitat for Humanity's first
resale store for building supplies - an Austin, Texas, enterprise that opened
in 1992 and is still going strong. The ReStore in Middle Island opened almost
two years ago, and Kniess expects it to start turning a profit this year with
revenues of about $10,000.
"If we can get a little more traffic, we might even do more," he said.
When Kniess isn't waiting on customers, he's answering e-mails or phone
calls from potential donors and people looking for specific items. Part of his
job is being a middle man or broker. He'll record the details about each item
being donated - the dimensions of used French doors, for example - in a book in
the store as well as on the organization's Web site, www.hfhsuffolk.org.
Meanwhile, people searching for a specific item can add their names to a "wish
list." Then Kniess tries to match potential donors with names on the wish list.
"We just don't have enough room here to take in and store every item," he
says. "But we can match people and items; that seems to work."
Things don't stay in the store long, either. After a few months, unsold
items are donated to Materials Resource Center, a Holbrook nonprofit
organization that sells furniture and other items to schools, civic
organizations and the public.
"That way, we keep getting new things," Kniess says.
E-mail: gary.dymski@ newsday.com.
