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Bonney Lake Goodwill doing better than expected

Three weeks after opening, officials say store’s business is booming

By Avani Nadkarni/of The Herald

When the only Bonney Lake Goodwill store opened in early December, the cash registers had lines snaking to the back of the store.

Three weeks later, sales show no signs of slowing down, said store manager Frank Quintana.

“Our sales are over target, the donations ... have been over budget,” Quintana said. “Overall, we’re really pleased.”

Quintana said the store, which is the 11th Goodwill in Pierce County, receives about 300 customers and 70 donations per day. He estimated that about 99 percent of customers and donors are from Bonney Lake. This, he added, proves that the city had a need for Goodwill.

“This building used to be a thrift store,” Quintana said of the 15,850-square-foot space that his store occupies in Bonney Lake Village. “(After it closed) there wasn’t really a destination in the community for a business like this, so we opened up. There’s no other store like us in Bonney Lake.”

Bonney Lake residents proved that Quintana’s hunch was correct: More than 250 sales transactions took place within the first hour of Dec. 3, the day the store opened.

“We’ve got a store filled with treasures,” said Terry Hayes, CEO of Tacoma Goodwill, which covers 15 counties from the Olympic Peninsula to Yakima.

Bonney Lake Mayor Neil Johnson was at the opening and said he plans to visit the store often.

“I think (residents) will find tremendous value shopping at Goodwill, I know I will,” Johnson said. “This is not your mother’s Goodwill — you have to come back every day for the experience.”

During this particular holiday season, customers who are trying to save money are lining up at all Goodwills and the Bonney Lake store is no different.

“I buy jeans, shoes,” said regular shopper Michelle Gallardo. “Anything I can get my hands on for my kids.”

The poor economy is helping to put customers in their store, said Tacoma Goodwill Public Relations Manager Matthew Erlich, but Goodwill is also looking to help residents, as well.

“Most people, when they think about Goodwill, think about stores or donations,” Erlich said. “Goodwill is a lot more than that. Our mission is to change lives by having people with disabilities and disadvantages find work.”

The Bonney Lake branch, Erlich explained, has employees who have developmental disabilities working in the store or in production.

“So we are very excited about the Bonney Lake store opening,” Erlich said. “Employing workers ... is what Goodwill is all about.”

The Bonney Lake Goodwill store welcomes gently-used household items for donation. They are part of the E-Cycle Washington program, which allows them to also accept old televisions, computers and similar electronics. Donors can drop these items off for free and get a tax deduction.