ReStore celebrates 4th anniversary

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s Minneapolis ReStore, is celebrating its fourth anniversary in the Seward-Longfellow community after being closed because of COVID-19 and the protests over the killing of George Floyd.
Opened in 2016, the ReStore, 2700 Minnehaha Ave., is a discount home improvement outlet that is open to the public and sells new and like-new furniture, appliances and building materials. The inventory comes from donations from individuals (free pickup) and companies. The materials are sold to the public at greatly discounted prices. Every dollar raised from sales goes into building homes and supporting local families to buy their first home. And the store’s staff is assisted by hundreds of volunteers every year.
Adjacent to the Target and Cub complex now being rebuilt, the ReStore and several neighboring businesses, including Better Future Minnesota and Wood From the Hood lumber store, provide a neighborhood center for rebuilding materials and Do It Yourself resources.
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity President and CEO Chris Coleman said he hopes the Minneapolis store will be an affordable resource for the Lake Street corridor as the community rebuilds from the protests after the killing of George Floyd. The Minneapolis store was damaged during the protests.
ReStore director Pete O’Keefe said that the ReSore is “a social enterprise and a green-minded business, and one of the few places where you can drop off donations.”
In fact, the ReStore has received 16,543 donations during the past four years. The store has also had more than 91,000 transactions and logged 22,854 volunteer hours. In addition, the ReStore has taken four million tons out of the waste stream by accepting used goods and by recycling materials.
“We are proud to be a good neighbor in the community,” O’Keefe said. “Most of our employees live in the neighborhood.”
(There is a second ReStore at 510 County Road D in New Brighton.)
Twin Cities Habitat is committed to building the quality of life, health, and economic prosperity of the region by producing, preserving, and advocating for affordable homeownership – because homes and families are the foundation of successful communities. Since 1985, 1,500 families have partnered with Twin Cities Habitat to achieve homeownership, building stability that multiplies for generations. www.tchabitat.org.