Store Is Fairfield's Little-Known Secret For Excellent Bargains

FAIRFIELD, CT — It’s been around for decades, but The Store at First Church may still be Fairfield’s best-kept secret.

After being closed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the long-standing thrift store located in the back of the First Church Congregational, 148 Beach Road, reopened last month.

“A lot of people don’t know about us, even though we’ve been here 30-plus years,” said Amy Watson, volunteer manager of The Store, which opened in 1978.

Donations of “gently used” items are sold at very good prices.

Embracing a community-outreach approach common to many congregational churches, The Store has enjoyed a history of not only raising money for its own mission, but also raising funds for several nonprofits that the church supports.

“Operation Hope is one of the organizations that we support,” Watson said, with The Store taking part in the food pantry’s upcoming community-wide tag sale event this weekend.

Mary Ellen Keresey, of Ridgefield, is a nine-year veteran volunteer with The Store who appreciates being part of a group that gives back.

“I like the fact that it’s all volunteer and that everything we earn here goes to help some organization,” she said.

In fact, all the volunteers are excited to be part of what they feel is a terrific community of people working together for a good cause.

“I love working with the volunteers,” said Jan Fiddler of Fairfield, who has been part of the group for 20 years. “And I love all of our wonderful customers that come in and bargain shop.”

Fiddler and others noted that the myriad offerings at The Store, which include a boatload of clothes for all ages, shoes, books and DVDs, kitchenware and much more, are a perfect method of recycling and reuse.

“The recycling is wonderful and people love that aspect of it,” she said.

More than ever, in fact, people are looking for options and ideas around repurposing, which is reflected in the burgeoning interest in thrift stores.

“It feels good to me,” Caroline Scholz of Monroe, a first-time visitor to The Store, said of shopping for used items. "It feels good to me, knowing I’m buying things that have already been in production.”

Scholz goes all over the region looking for thrift shops to explore, hunting for bargains but also unique items that simply aren’t available anywhere else.

“It’s becoming more of a trend to buy secondhand,” Watson said. “And I feel good about it because it’s ecologically sound.”

She said the store embraces that philosophy even after things don’t sell, by making its own donations of items to places that can benefit from them.

“We try not to throw anything away, and we throw very little away,” she said.

“And it’s just fun,” Keresey said of working at The Store. “We have a lot of fun.”

For more information, visit www.firstchurchfairfield.org/the-store-2/.