By Jeff Rebitski, Staff Writer
The latest, and possibly greatest, thrift store to hit Main Street in Riverton is 307 Thrift.
Owners Ted and Sheila McCool, relative newcomers to Wyoming, decided to begin the quest for their own shop when Sheila established a vision to not only help people in the community but use her connections in retail to provide affordably priced new fashions to everyone.
The store, located at 415 Main Street in Riverton, is a small shop with some big store attributes. They carry a variety of clothing items from gently used items that are cleaned and checked for quality to new items that are acquired through the contacts that Sheila has established after years of work in the retail clothing industry. The prices are easily appreciated as they are often half of the retail price as the McCools are passionate about not wasting a thing.
They collect clean, gently used clothing items through the front door and those items that are unusable through the retail store, get folded and donated to one of many operations throughout Riverton that help people with donations. This was Sheila’s vision and passion when she sprung the idea on her husband.
After one year of planning and patience the owners of ‘Twice but Nice’, another thrift store on Federal Blvd., and now friends of the McCools, helped them develop a plan that allowed them to rent a local space and start to build.
“We literally start each week with a $20.00 budget,” said Ted McCool.
“There is a bit of work yet to do,” the two McCools agreed. “But we work hard and keep hoping for the best. We are not here to make money, we are here to serve the community. Making money is how we do that.”
The ‘thrift’ business has become an alternative for many in the Riverton area. With at least 3 stores in the area in the last year, and one more soon to come, there is something for everyone, at a reasonable price.
The Ranger welcomes 307 Thrift to the block and wishes them the very best of luck.