Customers at MERS Goodwill are ready to shop as the store reopens in a new location
An area MERS Goodwill store reopened Thursday at its new location in Granite City’s Bellemore Village Shopping Center.
Now located at 3250 Nameoki Road, the store’s employees, district managers and city residents celebrated the reopening of the store with a ribbon cutting Thursday morning.
Rosemarie Brown, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce Southwestern Madison County, also attended the ribbon cutting event.
The store’s employees were very excited about the new store and Brown was very pleased with their attitudes.
She said it’s refreshing to see that excitement and makes her feel better about the businesses in the community.
She also said there were about 40-50 customers lined up with carts who were ready to shop.
Brown attended the ribbon-cutting event for the Granite City MERS Goodwill opening at its previous location in 2013. She thought the old facility was impressive but that the new one was even better.
MERS Goodwill has been in Granite City for a long time.
Store manager Sonya Womack has been with the company for 17 years, 14 of them in Granite City.
Granite City’s first MERS Goodwill store opened in April 2006 at 3451 Nameoki Road. The store later moved to 3675 Nameoki Road, opening in November 2013, where it operated until moving to the new location.
Bigger and better than before
Womack said it’s a really nice building and that they’re happy here. Everyone is so excited and “pumped and ready to go,” she said.
The store was always busy, according to Womack. Now they’re in a more visible location and the customers seem to love it.
She said many have already complimented the store and commented on how nice it looks.
Womack noted a few of the store’s features, starting with the automatic sliding glass doors at the main entry.
The new store is larger than the previous one and features new displays and racks for merchandise, many situated around the registers.
Merchandise now includes jewelry, which the store didn’t have before, said Womack.
There are also what she referred to as “promotional items,” which consist of brand new items that currently includes bedsheets. These items are obtained in bulk by the store’s retail vice president, said Womack.
Everything is sorted into different departments: media (books, movies, music), clothing sorted by men’s, women’s and children’s, accessories, shoes, housewares and other household items.
There is currently a section of Halloween merchandise with plenty of decorations and costumes.
Behind the scenes
The space at the back of the building is larger too.
The sorting area is full of bins and shelving with items donated at the location or shipped in from other locations.
Items are “processed” in this area – sorted into categories and priced – before they are put on the shelves for the customers.
There’s a drive-thru donation drop-off. Folks donating items can drive in, unload the car, and drive out.
An attendant is present to help unload donated items into the bins.
Womack said the old location’s donation drop-off area had a pavilion, but the new one is better, especially for weather.
A lot of items come through MERS Goodwill. Womack says it’s like every day is Christmas.
Part of the fun is the nostalgia one experiences when looking through items that still have plenty of life left in them.
For Womack, the reward is “being able to put that back into the community” for others.
About MERS Goodwill
MERS Goodwill is located at 3250 Nameoki Road in Granite City.
Store hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Donation hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
For more information about MERS Goodwill, call 314-241-3464 or visit mersgoodwill.org. For information about the Granite City location, visit facebook.com/MERSGoodwillGraniteCity.
