Animal Ark Thrift Store

I’m an addicted thrifter, and it’s safe to say I’m obsessed with this place. The staff is so friendly and helpful. The prices… well, Goodwill and Salvation Army can’t even compete. I love the layout of the building — you go from room to room, instead of a huge warehouse-​type store. There are sometimes adoptable cats hanging out when you shop. I will always, always find something cute when I go in here, and I’m there way too often.
Donate or shop, and you’re automatically helping animals! It’s a win-​win.

I am long past due for a visit to the great little shop. Interesting; never know what treasure you might find, and all for a good cause. I bought a very decent computer amoire for $ 100 which met a previously unrecognized need. Kitchen supplies in abundance and sometimes there are some really neat dish finds. Check it out.

I’m giving this five stars for myself, but please be aware that this might be a difficult place to come if you’re allergic to cats. They’re housed next door and the volunteers who socialize with the cats sometimes do so on the store floor. If you’re like me and you love cats, it’s pretty fun. If you’re massively allergic to cats like my boyfriend is, you’ll probably want to keep your trip under twenty minutes.
The other big thing to know before you come is that I suspect a fair amount of what you find here has been donated in wills. Everything skews pre-​1990 or so. Also, it’s not über-​tidy, particularly in the back room (personally, I think that’s part of the fun).
This is a FANTASTIC place to come if you love animals and objects featuring them — I seem to always see sweet 50’s — 60’s cat statues, for example, and there’s currently a case full of really nice dog miniatures. Prices are a bit erratic. For example, they always have beautiful sets of dishes, and I’ve seen antique sets for as much as $ 200 — which isn’t actually a bad, just more than you usually see at a thrift store. There are sometimes pretty pricey antiques in the glass cases as well. A beautiful teacup and saucer might run you $ 7. But you can also find great vintage sets for $ 20-​$ 30, and personally I love to see dishes sold as sets rather than in pieces. There are also great deals, though, especially on kitchen items from the 50’s — 70’s (I’ve seen a lot of great inexpensive 70’s dish sets in particular).
Clothing is a mixed bag because so much of it is pre-90’s and the selection isn’t massive (I usually get a pretty significant 70’s secretary vibe), though it might be better/​weirder for men’s clothes. Books seem strangely overpriced. As other people have mentioned, it usually smells kinda funny. And sometimes the pricing is understandable, but sometimes it isn’t. You might want to bring your own box if you think you might buy a dish set.
But I don’t begrudge them the occasionally «high» prices because the cause is a fantastic one, and I’ve never left empty-​handed. This is where I’ve found some of my very best, most unusual treasures!

The store is 90%handicap acceptabl. The isles are nice and large enough for a wheel chair or motorized wheelchair to get in and out of

I brought my dog here today out of curiosity. Like was previously stated, it is an odd mix of antiques (as well as junk-​tiques) and donated clothing. The atmosphere was super friendly and my pup was very welcome in the store. She had a blast because EVERYTHING SMELLED. I’m a teacher, so I was able to get a few new books for my class and I got a new carry on suit case (good bye carpet pattern luggage!) for $ 2 and a new barely used computer messenger bag for $ 7. Total, everything cost less than $ 13. And even better was that everyone that worked there wanted to pet and see my dog and give her treats (she loved every second of it!).

I stopped in after reading that this was one of the best thrift stores in the Twin Cities.
Well…
Here’s the thing. The items you find here skew more toward garage-​sale-​fare than thrift store stuff. That is to say, it tends to be older (styles for clothing, especially) and more random. Some of it is complete junk. Some of it is incredibly cool. I want to say they lack variety (because, really, I wouldn’t ever be able to find clothing here – which is what I primarily like to get at thrift stores), but they have so much *stuff* that it’d be wrong to imply they’re lacking in anything.
The prices are generally lower than a lot of the thrift stores ’round these parts.
You can’t fault their mission, and it’s an interesting store to peruse on an off-​day (they have rather restricted hours – on weekends, especially), but it just isn’t on my list of top thrift stores.

Trinkets and stuff that doesn’t fit me (cause I’m the jolly green giant) for a great cause. I can browse old salt shakers with my dog, cause they allow pets to peruse too. Sweet people run this place, and I enjoy paying next to nothin for stuff I don’t need… provided the cause is good and just. I’ll continue to go here and buy more crap I don’t need if I can help save innocent little puppies. Righto.

Made City Pages 2010 Best of List for thrift stores. I used to go here when I lived in Dayton’s Bluff in the early 90s, but they had animals waiting to be adopted out and that always made me sad. They now keep them at the shelter in Hastings so you can shop (and utimately help them) without feeling like you want to adopt them all and turn into a cat or dog collector. I’ve tried to stop here on Sundays after church, but it is closed. So I finally stopped on a Tuesday.
It’s kind of like a cross between a thrift shop and antiques store … I was hoping to frugally retail for the tailed ones — and indeed, found a few treasures, enough to make me repeat: 50s salad tongs for $ 4, a necklace/​earring set for $ 6, a new Hype purse for $ 6, and decent cheaters for $ 1.50. I didn’t have much time to give it a good scour but definitely will go back. Pet companions welcome, too!