Carpenter’s Corner thrift store is slated to open at 1715 Rural St. in Rockford on March 9, 2023. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Carpenter’s Place has set an opening date for its new thrift store inside the former Rural Oaks Schnucks.

Carpenter’s Corner, the new name for the store at 1715 Rural St., will open to the public on March 9 after a VIP event the day before. The opening comes nearly two years after the nonprofit, which works to help homeless men and women rebuild their lives, bought the former grocery store.

“It’s different from a lot of locations. It’s knitted into the community, it was a community grocery store,” said Mike O’Connor, executive director of Carpenter’s Place. “I hope that we will retain that feel.”

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Carpenter’s Corner will be a full-range thrift store with clothing, home furnishings, housewares, bicycles and other second-hand items for sale. There will also be bicycle repairs and a free children’s books library. The nonprofit will also accept donations on site.

O’Connor hopes the store’s location near varying economic demographics will make it both a resource for those in need and a convenient place for dropping donations.

“We’re not very far from lots of low-income folks, where a thrift store is really important, and we’re not that far from some of the wealthier parts of Rockford,” O’Connor said. “We hope it will be sort of a synergy … and, basically, it will be an asset to everyone in the neighborhood.”

Carpenter’s Place bought the property from Schnucks for $445,000 in April 2021, according to records from the Winnebago County Clerk and Recorder’s Office. Its plans for the site were in the works for much longer, with the first reports coming in August 2020.

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The progress for opening was slowed initially by the coronavirus pandemic, and then by the scope of the work, which included installing more efficient heating, cooling and lighting.

“When we started this we expected we would’ve been open a year ago,” O’Connor said. “But it is a big project.”

Fast facts | Carpenter’s Corner

Carpenter's Place thrift store Schnucks
Carpenter’s Place is preparing to open a thrift store at 1715 Rural St. in Rockford, the former home of Hilander and Schnucks grocery stores. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Where: 1715 Rural St., Rockford

Opening date: March 9, 2023

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday (subject to change)

On the web: facebook.com/carpenterscorner.thriftstore


This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas 

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