MCC Thrift & Gift in Elmira reopened this week after undergoing substantial renovations to make the store more accessible, and the product displays more organized.
The store, which was closed on January 20, has seen major changes, including adding an automatic door at the entrance, an accessible washroom, new change rooms, including one that is accessible, and moving the cash register from the front centre portion of the store to the left front corner while making it a row of three instead the semi-circle design it was previously.
The latter change is expected to alleviate congestion at the register, said general manager Debbie Siertsema. The store has also moved several displays, including the men’s, kid’s and toy sections.
“I think they’re going to be excited just about how open it is and how much they can see. Say if there’s a family, they will be able to find [each other] a little bit easier. We’re also not increasing our pricing,” Siertsema said.
Making the store accessible was important in making every customer feel welcome, she added.
“Just making sure that we had the space so that they don’t have to sit outside. I know, someone has had to sit outside for a little while in the cold until somebody else came in, and getting in through those front doors was a bit more challenging when we had that set of double doors. This is going to be a lot easier for people to come in.”
The store has also made changes to its operations, including office renovations and removing a wall in its production area. The designers learned from what other MCC Thrift locations have done and incorporated that into their renovations, Siertsema noted.
“[For example] just using a different type of hook, or how much product they can get on a certain rack those types of things….So visiting one of the other shops, we were able to see how they worked their receiving into production so that we can get things out on the floor faster and not store them, which we’ve had some challenges with sometimes checking in storing and then had too much storage,” she explained.
Some of the processing improvements involve out-of-sight areas such as the basement. In a similar vein, upgrades to the heating and air-conditioning systems were also carried out.
The store, which is also changing its outside signage, will have a grand re-opening on a yet-to-be-decided day in May.
“We are very excited to see the changes and the brightness and the freshness of the store. So that’s really what we see as we come in the door. It’s brighter, it’s fresher,” Siertsema said.
The renovations make a big difference to a building that was previously home to the Stone Crock Restaurant but had a number of previous uses that included a chicken hatchery and Zehrs market.
