It's a sunny and warm Monday afternoon and business at Stuff is brisk.
Shoppers just keep coming to the new south end thrift store that opened at the former Goodwill location on Bryne Drive.
"Very good weekend. Very busy both for donations and shopping," said Stuff owner and operator Chad Smith. "The feedback's been very positive."
In fact, Smith was greeted with cheers and applause from a line-up of waiting customers when he opened the doors on Friday morning.
The Bryne Drive store was one of 16 locations of Goodwill Industries of Toronto, Eastern, Central and Northern Ontario (Goodwill TECNO) that were closed suddenly on January 17.
About 60 employees at two stores in Barrie and another in Orillia were abruptly put out of work including Smith and his wife who were both with the company 24 and 22 years respectively.
Before the Goodwill bankruptcy, Smith was director of property management.
Prior to that he was the regional director for retail and before that, the director of operations.
Through the liquidations process Smith bought the merchandise inside the store and signed a lease.
He says they tried to make the store feel different from his former employer's and customers say he has succeeded.
"We're very impressed. First of all with the name Stuff. It looks really nice. I like the shabby chic painting," said shopper Candy, referring to the new sign. "The store smells really fresh. It's clean. Everybody is personable."
When asked what she and husband John bought, John can't help getting caught up in the fun.
"Stuff," he said laughing. "Somebody else's stuff."
It was actually clay pots for outside and a couple of dolls for their granddaughters.
"I think it's really well set up and priced well. Clean and organized," said another shopper. "There's definitely a difference in it."
Smith says calling the store Stuff just made sense for all kinds of reasons, including the fun factor.
"We thought it was catchy. I thought it sounded cool and short and easy to remember," he said. "You can buy stuff here. You can donate stuff here. You can fill your shopping cart with stuff."
Stuff is open for drive-through donations and shopping Monday to Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 11-5.
