Retail Revolt: Why local thrift stores are thriving

Second-hand has become a first choice for shoppers

When Shirley Ehrhardt took over her sister’s little thrift store on Preston Avenue in the late 1980s, changing its name from Yesterday’s Clothes to Twice is Nice, she likely never imagined it would one day be generating over $1.5 million in annual revenue or moving into a new $5.5 million building.

But thrifting has changed dramatically.

In 2001, Ehrhardt brought in $122,000 at Twice is Nice, enough to cover her $29,000 salary and $31,000 to her favorite charity, the Jefferson Area Board on Aging, or JABA. At that time, the store was basically operating as a non-profit serving JABA, which serves area seniors, and after several more years of expenses exceeding revenues, JABA took a more active role in its operation. In 2015, Ehrhardt finally retired and handed the store over to JABA, which used revenues to support its affordable senior living facility in Croze…