One of the managers at Cartecay Thrift Store calls the downtown Ellijay shop’s imminent closing “the worst kept secret in town,” as word about it has been circulating for several months now.
“The thrifters group that hits Ellijay is pretty strong,” said Bill Ford, store manager. “People know about us, and we’ve got regular customers who come from Gilmer County, as well as places like Blue Ridge and Cumming. Some folks come right to the store when they come up here from Florida.”
The building that houses the charitable thrift store run by members of Cartecay United Methodist Church (CUMC) has a new owner. The decision to close was initially made in March, and a specific timeline was recently decided, Ford said.
The store’s last day of business will be Friday, Sept. 30. “We’ll be closing the doors (then), and we hope to be totally out in the next two weeks,” Ford said.
Cartecay Thrift Store has operated out of the 90-year-old building at 374 North Main Street since 2008. The mostly wooden building housed Ellijay Hardware and the county extension office at different points in time, Ford noted.
Church members Bill and Julie Deloney started the thrift store as a way to help the church pay for its fellowship hall, said Ford.
“Bill and Julie were trying to find a way to help CUMC and felt that they could open up a thrift store. They went and talked to (previous owner) Floyd Edmondson, who’d had Ellijay Hardware in that building. He said they could do it, and he charged them a nominal rent,” Ford said.
“The Deloneys put a floor and ceilings in the back. It had a dirt floor. They footed most of the bill themselves and created basically the store that exists today.”
The volunteer-run thrift store’s mission grew to include financial donations to a variety of local nonprofits and community groups. Donation recipients have included the North Georgia Crisis Network, Gilmer Christian Learning Center, the New Beginnings temporary housing program, Safe Choice Pregnancy Care Center and several others.
All charitable donations are made possible by thrift store sales, Ford confirmed. Everything sold there, except for mattresses, has been donated by the local community.
Ford said organizations that receive charitable donations have been notified about the closing, and the store intends to fulfill its donations through the end of the year.
“I think one reason it was the worst kept secret was we felt obligated to put it out to the groups we were serving,” he added.
Ramon Herrera, who purchased the building earlier this year, noted the thrift store has done a lot of good in the community, and he gave the option to continue renting the building.
Ford said among the things factoring into the closing is the store has a smaller team of volunteers nowadays, all of whom are getting older.
“We’ve looked around (at different locations) and said ‘what if we did this or did that?’ At the last board meeting, it was decided if we’re going to close, we’re going to close (for good),” he said.
Herrera is the owner of three businesses across North Main Street — Ram Lock and Key, Rey’s Relics and the Third Hummingbird — all located in a two-floor building the former Miami, Fla., resident started remodeling eight years ago.
Hererra hopes to do the same to the nearby building listed on county tax records as built in 1932, which he said is in need of extensive repairs.
“We’re trying to save the main building and bring it back to its glory. Termites have eaten it from the bottom, and it has to be attended to,” he added.
“My wife saves buildings like the one we’re in right now. We just want to beautify the area.”
Herrera doesn’t know what exactly will become of the space just yet.
“Once we get in there, we’ll decide what to do with it,” he said. “We’re going to try to save the main structure and go from there.”