Next month a new 6,000-square-foot thrift store is expected to open in Puyallup, run by the Skoolie Foundation, whose mission is to help folks transition out of homelessness.
Founder and board chair Brandon Simmons gave The News Tribune a tour of the space Monday. Tucked in an alley behind the Safeway and McLendons Hardware at 5520 112th St. E. are four buildings that will become a new thrift store, donated furniture showroom, food bank and family resource center. The nonprofit will also use one of the buildings to convert school buses (skoolies) into mobile homes and hygiene facilities.
The pivot has come fast. Recently, Simmons said, they were told they would have to move from their current thrift store location down the street at 11305 Waller Road E. within 90 days, because the building had been sold. That location also is home to the foundation’s tiny-home village and safe-parking lot, which will need to move elsewhere, Simmons said…