Thrift store reopens with goal of being community hub again

Community Thrift, a long cherished Kalispell institution, has reopened its doors with a new proprietor who is eager to help Kalispell upcycle and rehome its local goods. 

The store is located at 203 Fifth Avenue West and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., but the new owner Sarah Harding is busy every day putting new life into the business. 

“I have a lot of ideas, so many that I try to keep them to myself,” Harding says. 

There is a yard where she sees a future community garden and there are upstairs rooms where she hopes to host art activities and provide tutoring space. She would like to make connections with specialists who work with materials thrift stores often have trouble reselling — a metal salvager, for one.

When Harding and her husband John arrived in Whitefish in 1999, Community Thrift was a regular stop for them. 

“I was raised on thrift stores. I was working at the Soroptimist in Whitefish at the time,” Harding recalls, referencing the nonprofit thrift store whose proceeds fund the education and advancement of women worldwide.   

Harding first met Connie Valentine, the previous owner of Community Thrift, after seeing the listing for the building on Zillow. 

“I fell in love with the building,” Harding said. “I talked to Connie, thought for a week, then I decided I could do it. I could rescue that building.”

The building is on the National Historic Register as the Scandinavian Methodist Church, which started in 1896 and saw several structural changes in the 20th century. The Salvation Army bought it in 1957 and operated it as a thrift store until Valentine bought it in 1989. 

Harding, who bought the store Dec. 1 and opened its doors Dec. 2,  has already met shoppers from those days who now come with children of their own. 

Valentine created the current look of Community Thrift, and in 1994 it earned its historical designation — but after 35 years, it closed when the pandemic hit and Valentine decided to retire. 

Harding saw an opportunity to keep a piece of history from being tossed away while serving the public and providing her a space to experiment with community-building projects until she pinpoints what the neighborhood needs most. 

“I bought myself a job,” she boasts. 

Harding is applying for a state historical grant to try to get help fixing the roof, the paint, and a laundry list of structural problems. 

“The grant would go a long way to preserving the building, but we won’t hear anything until after the next state legislative session in 15 months,” she said. 

In the meantime, Harding says donations are flooding in, and she is immensely grateful for the locals who want to uphold the idea of local thrift. She notes that most of the store’s customers walk, rather than drive, to the location. 

Despite the new ideas for the store’s underutilized upper rooms and yard space, she aims to keep the store close to the Community Thrift locals have known and loved over the years, a private business with a public mission “devoted to building a community of kindness.” 

Harding’s mission statement continues, “We are a house of respect and dignity for all humans where treasures, both material and spiritual, can be found through good work, warmth, and care for each other. We are committed to preserving our historic building as a symbol of the thrift, generosity, and roots of our community.”

Eventually, the goal will be to provide employment to the “differently abled.” 

“Thrift is a low-stakes environment,” she said. “It’s a perfect job training ground.”

Harding sees her predecessor as a role model of community engagement and humane business ownership. 

“She took care of people in this community,” Harding says, describing Valentine’s management as simple practices driven by goodwill.”  

“She was cash only, she used a landline,” she adds. “I admire her perseverance and steadfastness. It’s not an easy business, but she worked really hard, and her goodwill is incredible.” 

Valentine said she misses the store, and will always love the building. But believes it is in good hands with its new proprietor, and is thrilled that it will remain a community hub.

“During Covid, I couldn’t shop without someone coming up to tell me how much they missed that store.”   

“We tried to be neighborly,” she said of her time owning the business. “We helped with fixed income. We would let people pay once a month if they needed to.” 

Her foremost concern was making sure goods were circulating in the community to find the people who needed them most. 

Reporter Carl Foster can be reached at 758-4407 or cfoster@dailyinterlake.com.

    Dishware items for sale at Kalispell Community Thrift on Tuesday, Jan. 16. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Racks of clothing and items for sale at Kalispell Community Thrift on Tuesday, Jan. 16. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    One of two upstairs rooms that owner Sarah Harding hopes to convert into artist studios at Kalispell Community Thrift on Tuesday, Jan. 16. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    One of two upstairs rooms that owner Sarah Harding hopes to convert into artist studios at Kalispell Community Thrift on Tuesday, Jan. 16. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider