LEWISTON — “How many more minutes,” Dave Sites of Lewiston asked.
“Nine,” replied Nancy MacMillan.
In a scene similar to shopping on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Sites and MacMillan were near the front of the line, waiting with many others for a bargain Thursday morning.
Maj. Ron Bernardi arrived precisely at 9 a.m., and before he had a chance to announce that the Salvation Army thrift store was once again open for business, two shoppers sneaked in through the front door.
“We went through withdrawal when they closed down,” Don Veilleux said as he waited for the grand reopening on Main Street in Lewiston. “Good thing the garage sales started up.”
An intentionally-set fire May 19 closed the store doors, a setback for many regulars.
“We missed them so much,” Sites said. “They have much better prices than Goodwill.”
“This is where I buy all my stuff,” Karen Page of Lewiston said. “I can’t afford anywhere else.”
Page gave store manager Kelli Walker a hug as Page walked through the front door. “The people here are so nice,” Page said.
The entire interior of the store was renovated after the fire, said Bernardi, who could not comment on the fire because the investigation is ongoing. “The renovation was planned even before the fire.”
“We have been counting down the days,” Diane Veilleux said as she shopped with her pregnant daughter, Sarah Morissette.
Morissette, who told friends to buy secondhand items for her baby shower, added, “It’s ridiculous how much you save by shopping here.”
Morissette’s son was due to be born a week ago. She stopped by the grand reopening on her way to her 10 a.m. ultrasound appointment. Her unborn son makes out every time she comes into the Salvation Army. “He has more shoes than me,” Morissette said.
“You never know what you’re going to find. It’s wonderful,” Sites said.
The Lewiston man said he stops in almost daily to see what bargains he can find. “I am looking for the gold bars,” Sites joked as he waited for the doors to open. “I know exactly where they put them.”
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