LAFAYETTE — The Chestnut Street Mercantile is closing its doors and clearing its shelves this weekend.
The second-hand thrift shop has been a staple of the Lafayette community and a tribute to the generosity of late businessman and philanthropist Don Stein for ten years.
When Don first converted the 35,000 square foot warehouse into the city's garage/yard sale, it was more so an extension of his own basem*nt, his daughter Lori Stein Sabolsaid.
Growing up, Lori said her father was not one to stop at a yard sale and bargain with neighbors.
He was fond of antiques and auto memorabilia but his small, personal collection was sequestered to the basem*nt. His wife, Lois, was not a fan of knick-knacks and kept their house neat.
Her one soft spot, though, was glass or porcelain penguins.Don found at least ten of them over the years.
But in 2009 when Don re-purposed his janitorial supply warehouse and launched Surplus and Salvage, he could fully indulge in the treasure hunt.
He and his two sons, Terry and Todd, would travel around in a 50-mile radius searching through abandoned storage units and hauling backpieces from estate or neighborhood sales.
The warehouse amassed an inventory that even towards the end of Don's time still totaled 100,000 items. It became known that anything and everything could be found at Surplus and Salvage.
A full living room could be furnished from the couch to the movie collection.
A kitchen could be completed from the refrigerator to the silverware in the drawers.
An office could be fully stocked from the file cabinets to the computer mouse on the desk.
In preparation for the liquidation sale,Terry surveyed the basem*nt full of boots, jackets, mugs, vinyl records and a designated "sports room."He saidhe couldn't even venture a guess of what all of it amounts to in dollars and cents.
"I couldn't even come up with a figure," he said,
The Surplus and Salvage reputation and rotating stock drew in regular customers who would pick through and find items to resell.
“We had the volume, but we didn’t take the time to separate the value, go online to eBay or Craiglist and maximize (the profit)," Terry said."It was more a service to people who couldn't afford a $150 mattress and get a $10 or $15 mattress instead.”
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While the thrill of securinga unique find was enticing, Don could have easily continued his own personal collection— which includes classic cars, trucks, rims and other auto parts— what the Surplus and Salvage was about was the community.
“I think he got some pleasure and joy out of the search and a great pleasure out of helping the community," Lori said.
Don wasn't much of a bargainer, Lori said. The prices, most of which were just in his head rather than on signs,were already fair and Doninsisted on doing deals by the dollar rather than nickel and dime products.
After all, the profits were going to charity.
Heactively served on the Lyn Treece Boys & Girls Club board of directors for more than 35 years and used the thrift store as a yearlong fundraiser.
When Don was ready to slow down and hand over the reins, he offered the Boys & Girls Club the warehouse but they didn't have the manpower to continue such a large operation.
So, he set out to find the right fit. He contacted six local organizations and landed on the YWCA. Specifically, the warehouse would benefit the domestic violence intervention and prevention program.
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It was both an exciting opportunity and a challenging endeavor, Chestnut Street Mercantile advisory board member Jody Hamilton said.
The warehouse changed names and ownership in 2017. But Don wasn't going anywhere.
"It wasn’t something he wanted to just throw in our lap," she said."He wanted to work alongside with us and make sure we could accomplish this."
The idea was that the warehouse could be used as a place for domestic abuse victims to have a fresh start and get retail experience.They could volunteer to keep labor costs down in exchange for choosing toys, housewares and appliances etc. from the warehouse stock.
It was designed to be a win-win, Lori said.
The original deal carried over the workers who had been hired by Stein but federal grants the YWCA received for their domestic abuse services limited their ability to set up full-time unpaid volunteers.
Still, Don remained a constant.
After years of hiding away in his office and claiming not to be a people person, Don started to sitat a small outdoor table directly across from the checkout. He enjoyed being on the floor, interacting with customersand being part of the community he created.
He wasn't afraid of hard work and continued showing up at the mercantile up until the week before he died. This larger than life "pet project"is what kept him sharp until he was 86 and a half years old, Lori said.
"He was the type that he couldn'thave retired at any age," she said."So for him to have had something to do and some place to come to and still be able to feel like he was doing something productive [kept him active].”
After Don's passing, it became apparent that the ebbs and flow of business were not an ideal fundraiser for the YWCA.
The advisory board remained close with the Stein children and had regular meetings about new ways to market the warehouse but most months they were barely breaking even considering the YWCA had started to staff the business as well, Hamilton said.
There were months business dipped enough that the Stein family gave the YWCA discounts on the rent and the idea of closing down the warehouse altogether continued to be repeated over the last six months.
“It just got to the point where it wasn’t hitting the mission we set out to do," Hamilton said."The Steins saw that as well and were gracious enough to let us hand back the business.”
The Stein family regained control and closed the doors on Thursday, February 28. They wanted to start the month fresh and get the ball rolling on a liquidation sale as soon as possible.
After everything theYWCA cleared, organized and sold in two years, 66,000 items still remain in the mercantile.
“We don’t have Plan B," Lori said. "We know we can’t get rid of everything."
The clear-the-shelves sale will happen for one weekend only and offer hourly sales and free gifts to those who bring advertisingfliers given out at the YWCA's Salute to Women.
Everything— the hundreds of golf bags, children's bikes and coffee makers— will be sold for less than $25 with a few exceptions for big ticket items.
The Stein family rounded up every available friend, family member and former employee to work the three-day sale. All the proceeds will go to the family's favorite charities including the Boys & Girls Club and the YWCA.
And then after that the fate of the warehouse is unknown.
They've had a couple interested companies look to rent the space.
As for all the stuff inside, well it needs a new home.
IF YOU GO: The Chestnut Street Mercantile is located at 231 Chestnut Street, Lafayette. The liquidation sale is Friday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All items will be under $25 with hourly sales. Proceeds will go to local charities.
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Contact Journal & Courier reporter Lindsay Moore at 765-420-5205, lrmoore@jconline.com and follow heron Twitter:@_lindsaymoore.
