Expanded PTA Thrift Shop To Feature “Gadget Galaxy”

CARRBORO- Monday’s grand opening of Carrboro’s expanded PTA Thrift Shop is an event nearly four years in the making. Executive Director Barbara Jessie-Black says the new store will have more of what shoppers love, along with a few surprises.

“The cool thing for customers will be we have a special section that we’ll call the PTA Gadget Galaxy where we have electronics and computers set up in the same configuration as the Apple Genius Bar,” says Jessie-Black. “We’ll have our own PTA Thrift Shop Gadget Galaxy, which is new for us.”

The “Gadget Galaxy” will have staffers on hand to help customers pick out computers and other electronic goods and will offer repair services in the near future.

The expanded location includes 14,000 square feet of retail space and an additional 13,000 square feet of space that will house the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Pre-K and Head Start offices.

Most importantly, Jessie-Black says the new and improved thrift store will translate into more money for local schools.

“There was no room for growth, which meant that every time a new school came into the district, that large pot of money got smaller for each school,” says Jessie-Black. “That’s really the reason why we created this larger building and why we added the lease space to the equation.”

The expansion has been in the works since 2009. Jessie-Black says she’s thankful that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community came together to make it a reality.

“The community has been so supportive from the beginning. People have been very supportive and very excited about what’s getting ready to happen,” says Jessie-Black. “We couldn’t have done this big project without the community.”

The grand opening takes place Monday morning at 8:30 at the Carrboro PTA on Jones Ferry Road. The store will begin accepting donations in Mid-December.