Double Impact as Common Threads Opens Second Location in Brook Park
Plus, 2020 brought significant growth and opportunity
Double the stores means double the selection, sales, staff and savings, but the best of all…DOUBLE IMPACT. There are many reasons to love Common Threads, BHITC’s social enterprise thrift stores, but its impact is the heart behind this great story.
Common Threads Brook Park – located at 5793 Smith Road – officially opened its doors for business on December 21, 2020, and in true BHITC supporter fashion, a line of people (distanced and masked, of course!) waited to shop when the store opened. God’s grace, not even a global pandemic could stop the goal to open this store by year’s end.
“When we found this location, we knew God had another Common Threads location in mind for us, but we had no idea how many hurdles – even more than the usual for opening a small business – we’d face in 2020,” says Jeff Stredney, BHITC’s Director of Social Enterprise. “By God’s grace and His provision, every single person and piece of the puzzle we needed to open by year’s end came together. We’re deeply grateful for the many opportunities this store will bring to our staff, the community and the work of BHITC.”
The store’s public grand opening took place on Friday, January 8, 2021, where the “threads” ribbon was officially cut and included Brook Park Mayor, Michael Gammella, Chief of Staff, Anthony D’Amico, Councilman, Tom Troyer, and Economic Development Commissioner, Scott Adams (all shown on the newsletter’s front cover) to celebrate the beginning of this new chapter for the store and community.
What’s a “threads” ribbon, you ask?! The ribbon for the store’s opening was made from recycled strips of clothing, of course! In fact, Common Threads recycles 250 tons of unusable textiles annually.
Cover photo credit to the amazing, Caitlin Antje.
Common Threads Brook Park is open the same schedule as its Fairview Park location, which is Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays, Noon to 6 p.m. Find it between Marc’s and Roses in the Brookgate Shopping Plaza! Stop out to shop soon!
2020 WAS A SIGNIFICANT YEAR OF GROWTH FOR COMMON THREADS –
Opened CT Brook Park, adding 10 new staff
Named ‘Best Thrift Store in Town’ by readers of Cleveland’s Scene Magazine for the third time since opening in 2016
Grew net sales by 18% despite being closed for two months during the pandemic
Surpassed $2M in net sales since opening in 2016 to the store itself