Habitat opens third ReStore location in Winnipeg

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This article was published 12/09/2019 (2394 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers seeking a place to buy a cheap window, toilet or furniture — and want to help a low-income family own a new home at the same time — have a new place to shop.

On Thursday, Habitat for Humanity Manitoba officially opened its third ReStore in Winnipeg (1565 Inkster Blvd.). It joins other locations on Archibald Street and Ellice Avenue.

Mayor Brian Bowman, who spoke at the ribbon-cutting, said: “I talk a lot about building our city for the future, and Habitat for Humanity has been doing that since their inception. I encourage Winnipeggers to come here and spend a lot of money on a great cause.”

While Bowman has helped and visited a few Habitat homebuilding projects, it was the first time he had been inside a ReStore outlets. He was observed taking a look at several of the items and saying: “I’ll be back with my family.”

Tim Hayward, Habitat board chairman, said “as a proud Winnipegger, this is one of those feel-good stories. And it’s one of those made-in-Winnipeg stories.”

ReStore outlets were founded in Winnipeg in 1991 by five volunteers and the help of local businessman Art DeFehr, who paid the salary of its first employee for a year. Since then the chain has grown to more than 100 across the country, and 1,000 around the world.

Besides the Winnipeg stores, there is also one in Brandon.

The ReStore receives new and used building materials donated by manufacturers, retailers, contractors and homeowners and resells them to the public at reduced prices.

The Manitoba outlets saw more than $2 million in sales last year, and diverted more than 3,000 tonnes of material from being buried at landfills.

“We kind of recognized where there could be a need for another ReStore here (northwest Winnipeg),” Hayward said. “Hopefully this allows us to serve more members of the community in this area.”

Hayward said the income generated by the outlets goes to pay the administration costs of Habitat, allowing more of the money given to the non-profit organization by donors to go to building homes for people with low incomes.

“It would be great if we could get to the point where ReStore carries all of our administration costs — that would be a plus,” he said.

Brad Kopp, director of fixed income investments with Wawanesa Insurance and a member of Habitat’s local board, said his company is proud to be a major supporter of the organization’s efforts.

“(Habitat) is also green,” Kopp said. “They keep perfectly usable building materials out of our landfill.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca