New address, same ReStore in Purcellville

The go-to place for bargain basement prices on new and ”gently used” building materials, appliances and home improvement supplies just got even better.

The Loudoun Habitat for Humanity restore first opened at 751 East Main St., Purcellville, in April 2009 and has since then raised thousands of dollars to provide adequate housing for Loudoun citizens in need. On Saturday May 21, ReStore celebrated its move about 100 yards west to 711 East Main St. The new digs, said Loudoun Habitat Executive Director Jeffrey Dee, will serve the public and his organization better.

The move wasn’t exactly voluntary. Six months ago, Dee said, the Habitat board learne3d that the building restore occupied would be torn down as part of the Loudoun Valley Shopping Center’s facelift.

Although the new ReStore is slightly smaller than the old one, Dee said, it “offers a lot more opportunity for r us. We can use this space better.”

As part of the move, Dee said, they identified items that weren’t selling well and donated them to other organizations. “Here, we have a lighter and brighter area, and will be more efficient in what we sell.”

Here’s how ReStore works: Contractors, retail outlets, local businesses and individuals donate building materials, home furnishings, and home improvement items –plumbing supplies, lighting fixtures and outlets. And yes, the Habitat crew will come pick the donations up. Those items are for sale in the ReStore at 50 to 90 percent less than their retail value.

Then, all the money made in the ReStore goes to Habitat’s core mission, to provide decent housing for Loudoun’s workforce and needier citizens.

Last year, Dee said, the ReStore pulled in $70,000.”That goes right back to building houses, and our goal next year is $100,000.”

Board member Tony McGraw headed up the ReStore relocation committee, with a lot of help from fellow board member Tom Grannas, who heads up the acquisition committee. IN the current economic downturn, McGraw said, Habitat has been able to buy foreclosed properties in eastern Loudoun, get them up to Habitat standards and move families in. “Our mission is to put families in houses,” McGraw said. “It doesn’t say we have to build them. Raw land is very expensive, and the development process is very slow – we can put families in a foreclosure in six months.”

After some brief speeches, the store was open and a lot of regular customers were on hand. Atem Samson, of Purcellville, stocked up on crown molding for his home improvement project. He’s no stranger to ReStore, he said. “I’m here pretty much two times a month.”

And the nearby Catoctin Distilling Company, Dee said, shopped at ReStore to equip its new office.

There’s another hidden benefit, Dee said. When people donate unwanted material to ReStore (about 750 in the U.S., with a cumulative revenue of $300 million), it doesn’t end up in the landfill. The ReStore manta is “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Restores across the country, on average, take 25 tons out of the nearest landfill each year. Instead of throwing it away, give it to us and we’ll resell it.”

ReStore gets a lot of support from local and regional corporations, Dee said, Dominion Power and Lowe’s Home Improvement are consistently generous, he said.

“Builders call and we go and get it. Lowe’s called up us, had 16 pallets of cabinets. Another organization is giving us 96 brand new toilets, nothing wrong with them.”

What ReStore needs most, Dee said, is “continued support from the community. Come and buy. If you know of anybody who needs to place furniture, give it to the Loudoun Habitat For Humanity ReStore.”

ReStore, 711 East Main St., Purcellville, VA 20132, is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call the store at 540-579-4508.