By ASHLEY MCLEOD, Staff writer
Mar 4, 2014, 14:33
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — Erica Lawal loved going thrifting. Whether it was to yard sales or consignment shops, she was there.
“It was almost a habit, we were there every day,” Lawal said.
Now Lawal and her husband Yinka have opened up their very own thrift store, Community Chest, located at 3301 Boulevard in Colonial Heights.
After going to different stores and seeing prices for merchandise, the Lawals realized they could do the same thing, but better.
“We decided we could probably do that and have better prices,” Lawal said. “We saw some of the prices at the other thrift stores going up, and thought it would be nice to have a place where people could come and get good finds and good deals.”
The Lawals began collecting items, visiting estate sales, auctions, and picking up unsold items at yard sales. After about a year, their storage space was filled, and they realized it was time to open a store.
“There’s not a whole lot of thrift stores in Colonial Heights; it’s just the Goodwill. So to give the residents of Colonial Heights and of the Tri-Cities a little more of an option we decided to open up here,” Lawal said.
The store holds a variety of products, including clothes, furniture, dishes, toys, and home goods.
The Colonial Heights Chamber held a ribbon cutting at the consignment shop on February 20, welcoming the Lawals, and manager Gladys Hewitt, who is also Erica’s mother, to the community.
