A giant kangaroo mascot greeted bargain shoppers inside the Common Interest Thrift Store in Nixa Friday. KSMU’s Alissa Zhu attended the store’s grand opening and has this report.
The Common Interest Thrift Store is a collaborative effort between the Christian Associates of Table Rock Lake, the Nixa Education Foundation, and Least of These, a food pantry that serves over 800 families in Christian County each month. A portion of the store’s revenue will benefit each organization.
“I just love it. Food, school, clothes, I mean what’s better?”
That’s Jennifer Popowich, the manager of the Common Interest Thrift Store. She said this is the second thrift store opened by the Christian Associates of Table Rock Lake with a focus on charity. Its thrift store in Branson West donates over half a million dollars a year to fund community projects like domestic violence shelters and emergency food pantries, said Popowich.
“And the Common Interest, how I got that was, I looked up the word community and right then I knew. It said, ‘People having the same common interest.’ And you know what that is? It’s people. It’s what NEF, our partner, and Least of These, our other partner, it’s what we all - It’s our heart. It’s our passion. It’s our ministry. It’s people. And so we are able to do so much for this community.”
Jeanie Russell, browsing the children’s shoe section, is back-to-school shopping for two of her young granddaughters.
“They have everything here from kids clothes, dishes, furniture, everything. Holiday stuff, pretty cool. Well, as you can tell from the people lined up…it fills a big need here in our community, so it’s pretty exciting. The girls, they’re trying on shoes and they’re pretty excited. I’ve been waiting for this to open. I saw the sign two weeks ago and we’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
The store’s tagline reads, “An upscale, trendy, thrift store experience.” According to Russell, there are not any other thrift stores in Nixa that have the same breadth of selection as the Common Interest. An Australia-themed Walkabout Coffee Shop, complete with Wi-Fi and a lounge area, will be opening in the Common Interest soon, which explains the presence of a giant kangaroo mascot amidst the second-hand clothing and donated furniture.
The first day of the Common Interest Thrift store is a busy one.
“I suppose there are probably a couple hundred people here at least and it’s hard to get a parking place, you almost got to park down to McDonalds to get up here.”
Hoot Gibson is a customer browsing the used electronics section.
“Well I’m 85 years old and we’re getting ready to move and of course, we’re always looking for more stuff and I heard about it and I just had to come and see it. Actually my wife says we have to come and see it. So that’s what we’re doing here. It’s a wonderful store and there’s such a wonderful selection that I just don’t know what to do,” Gibson said.
The Common Interest is located at 741 Center Circle in Nixa.