Priceless deals: Sharon thrift store giving away its inventory
Jan. 17—SHARON — The Round Table thrift store in Sharon is going out of business and is simply giving away a large amount of its inventory.
The store at 195 W. Connelly Blvd. is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This Saturday could be its last week in the store until they regroup and present inventory from a warehouse across town.
Round Table, based on Knights of the Round Table, was formed in 2006 when it collected books for prisons and nursing homes. In 2017, J. Jarrett K. Whalen's apartment-rental company, HomeTown Community Rentals, bought the building downtown that was up for tax sale.
"It had good days and bad days," Whalen said. "Then COVID came and shut it down."
To keep the thrift store going, and because people were still donating items, they placed items in warehouses on Dock and Mill streets. Meanwhile, he had trouble finding workers to staff the Round Table.
For about four weeks, they have been moving the donations from the warehouse to the store and giving them away on Saturdays.
"We got started to help the community so, why not? Why not give it away?" Whalen said.
People must sign a pledge stating that they understand that the items are free, they are taking them as-is and that the items are for their use, not re-sale.
The building, on the south side of West Connelly Boulevard between the city building and South Irvine Avenue, has been sold to Community Counseling Center of Mercer County. That sale is supposed to close in a couple weeks, barring some technical issues. The store may be open longer than two weeks for this reason, or it could close this weekend depending on whether the issue is cleared.
"We didn't have to spend the last six weeks doing what we're doing," Whalen said. "But we thought instead of having the CCC people toss everything in a dumpster, let's get it in the hands of people who could use it."
Whalen said he and his eight sisters and five brothers grew up poor on Sharpsville Avenue in Sharon, and a lot of the people who come into the store grew up with them. So he knows what it's like to need things.
They brought in loads of toys and have now lined the building with a lot of furniture to give away Saturday.
And after that, they will move to the 33,000-square-foot warehouse behind Penn State Shenango and continue giving items away if they can find people to staff it.
"It's been an overall pretty positive experience, especially for the kids. We're letting kids just take whatever toys they want."
Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com
Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com
