Second Chances and the recently opened Funky Monkey Bling will have new homes before long. SECOND Chances, a non-profit second-hand store that supports Allen County Animal Rescue Facility has been in the corner store about two years.
The stores, in the same building on the north east side of the square, will be swapping locations.
Funky Monkey Bling owner Theresa Ross said the success the store has seen since its opening in November calls for expansion.
“We needed more space,” Ross said. “We are growing and taking off and need room to expand.”
Ross is targeting a March 17 move, and a March 20 reopening.
Building owner Jeff Heinrich is renovating the floors and Ross is building dressing rooms.
Ross has started imagining the way the store will look, going for a rustic, older look. She said she asked Heinrich not to cover any imperfections in walls because she liked the added character it brought to the store.
Ross said she is excited about the extra space but also the amount of new merchandise she will be able to bring in.
Since December Funky Monkey Bling has sold over 250 pairs of jeans.
Ross will bring in additional vendors, which will add to the store’s merchandise.
“I have several vendors in line,” Ross said. “It will be one big store.”
Ross will have a summer grand opening, which “will be here before she knows it.”
Second Chances is run solely by unpaid volunteers. It was created when a group of pet-lovers saw a need for the local animal shelter.
“There are 200 shelters in Kansas and only nine of them aren’t funded by the county. ACARF is one of them,” volunteer Hazel Jones said.
Since Second Chances opened, it has raises $26,000 for ACARF.
Everything in the store is 50 percent off until the store moves to its new location, which Jones said was a good thing because when the store reopens everything will be new.
To help raise money, the Second Chances volunteers have fundraisers in mind for when the weather warms up.
Jones said they are planning a “junk in the trunk” fundraiser, where parking spots are sold and people may sell second-hand items from their trunk. They will sell food from the ACARF truck and even have a dog wash.
“It will be a big dog day,” Jones said.
Stores swap locations
