Family Thrift Store

Family Thrift is now called Epic Thrift Store. The staff was very friendly when we walked in. They greeted us right away and told us which color tag was on sale and a few bins that had more bargains. However, the store is not what it used to be like at the Wheatridge area before they closed. It is a shame because it was my favorite thrift store. The selection of clothes is good but household and furniture were slimmer picking.
The liquor store a few doors down made me a little uncomfortable with their clientele.

This place has a TON of really decent furniture and dishes. I’m still thinking about that rocking chair I left behind.
The place (and the whole strip mall) was pretty dead for a Sunday, which made it feel a little creepy. The good thing about the emptiness though is that it’s not totally picked over like other places can be.

I believe the way to save our world is through educated recycling. Not just plastic and aluminum, but recycling and reusing whenever and whatever possible. I am a connoisseur of all things secondhand. .. books, furniture, cars, clothing, home goods, etc.
Part of this educated recycling is knowing where to donate things you no longer need and where to buy good secondhand items that are starting on their 2^nd life. Two things are needed in order to do this: 1) patience and 2) a good eye.
Never hesitate to check out all consignment shops and thrift stores you run across. Make your first trip a «search and find mission.» Check out the store. Is it clean and well organized? Are the prices fair? Are the prices comparable to other thrift stores in the area? Do they specialize in certain merchandise? Vintage clothing? Antique furniture? Home goods? Clothing? Is the staff friendly?
On my «search and find mission» trip to Family Thrift it met most of my criteria for returning. .. . it was clean, well organized and had a variety of goods. Lots of furniture. I bought one kitchen utensil (never leave a store on a «search and find mission» without at least one small purchase). Mine was .82 cents with tax. One small purchase allows you the opportunity to briefly talk to the staff.
I will go back in a couple of weeks and see what the turnover is. .. who donates? How often? Does it really meet the criteria of educated recycling? We’ll see.

Family Thrift Store on the outside looks like a crappy place… My husband and I had just finished eating at Manila to Go and decided to stop by this place on the way before catching a movie at Tiffany Plaza. You can tell we like affordable and fun places already, right?
So we park, and it’s snowing outside. I was expecting to park in a Savers lot, but it wasn’t Savers anymore. The last (and actually only, I think) time I’d been here was back in ’99 or 2000, and I was shopping for work clothes for a new temp job (glad those days are over!). And when I saw the big yellow sign reading «GRAND OPENING,» I thought, «hmm… right… new name, same place» And there were posters of Sarah Jessica Parker and Amanda Bynes outside, which I thought was funny for a thrift store.
Before getting out the car, I take a quick glance and notice the shopping center hasn’t changed much… dinky pet store, small liquor store, and maybe a Burger King?
But as soon as we go inside the store, I felt like I was walking into heaven’s thrift store!
There are racks and racks of NEW items with their «Steve & Barry’s» tags still on. I wondered what that was about. Also, all the clothes were on wood (nice!) hangers. The first area I checked out was the furniture, and there were dining chairs for about $ 30 that actually matched. And about 10 coffee tables that were white that were exactly the same table, for $ 79. Saw a very nice and huge conference/​dining table for $ 280. So I started thinking… «Hmm… I wonder if most of this stuff is new?»
And most of it is new!
I tried to find a shirt, but couldn’t only because they didn’t have my size (if I were a 16 and didn’t mind wearing shirts that said «Daddy’s Girl» or «I Have Issues,» it would’ve been fine — and really, some of the shirts are great — I just wasn’t in a shirt mood). My husband and I ended up spending $ 47 on 3 shirts (for him), a bunch of new panties for $ 2 each (more than you want to know!), and craft supplies — and all of it had their original tags or were never used.
I ended up asking the cashier how they had such nice stuff, and he told me that when Steve and Barry’s was closing out, they bought their merchandise. I didn’t know any thrift stores did that! They also have some great deals, but the only one I can remember is «Spend $ 50 and save $ 8,» since that’s the one we got. You’ll see the deals all over the place.
And they gave us a 25% coupon for our next trip. :)
You’ll LOVE them. If you’ve got little cousins/​siblings, take them with you. There are so many cute kids’ clothes.