Tacoma Goodwill will hold a grand opening June 18 of a new North Tacoma store. A grand opening ceremony will take place from 8:45 to 9 a.m. at the store, 5401 Sixth Ave., Suite 600, in the former Longs Drug building between Les Schwab and the Sears Outlet stores. Tacoma Goodwill Board of Directors President Bob Bruback and CEO Terry A. Hayes, along with Tacoma City Councilmember Spiro Manthou will be on hand. At 9 a.m., doors open to the public.
During the grand opening weekend, June 18-21, shoppers will have the opportunity to win a DVD player, iPod nano and $50 gas cards daily throughout the event. Donors of gently used clothes, shoes, household items and e-cycling during the grand opening weekend will receive a 50 percent-off drink coupon to nearby Cutters Point coffee.
Hayes thanked architects BCRA; the contractor, Mountain Construction; and Rosen Harbottle, property owners/managers, for their efforts renovating the 19,000-square-foot store to fit Goodwills specific needs. The store will include an expanded Junior Fashions Department, expanded Book Department and convenient donation drop-off site.
Charlotte Wiedow will be the store manager. Wiedow came to Goodwill in November 2008, where she worked as the Auburn Goodwill store manager. Prior to coming to Tacoma Goodwill, Wiedow was regional manager for North Central Wisconsin Goodwill and has additional department store management experience. Ryan Donicht will become the Auburn Goodwill store manager.
More than 35 jobs were created to operate the North Tacoma Goodwill Store. The jobs include employment for cashiers, production workers, forklift drivers and management staff, Hayes noted.
“In these challenging times, our stores provide an opportunity for employment that supports our other services,” Hayes said. “North Tacoma will be the first of four stores we will open in coming months as we expand those services.”
The store hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The store can be reached by calling (253) 759-3701. The store will be the 22nd for Tacoma Goodwill and marks the fifth store within the city of Tacoma and the eighth in Pierce County. Tacoma Goodwill’s service area covers 15 counties, including most of the Olympic Peninsula, Pierce, Thurston and South King counties and east to Yakima and Ellensburg. For more information, go online to http://www.tacomagoodwill.org .
