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Looking for Stuff? Head to downtown Barrie (13 photos)

Find stuff at Stuff in this week's Mid-Week Mugging

If you head downtown looking for stuff, you should probably head to Stuff downtown.

Having just opened up this past Friday, Stuff is located at 42 Dunlop St. E. in the old Tropical North location. Owner Chad Smith recently moved to Barrie and after driving downtown realized that the shop he is passionate about was lacking in the core of the city.

“I felt like the genre of the local thrift shop was lacking or really just non-existent downtown,” said Smith. “It is a real community supporting communities type feel when you shop here and that is the feel of the downtown, or at least should be.”

Thrift shops are nothing new to Smith as he worked at Goodwill since he was 16 years old and when the 2016 bankruptcy took the livelihood of many local workers from the old 525 Bryne Dr. location, Smith and his wife took over the 13,000 square foot space and turned it into Stuff; a place for all your second-hand goods to be given a new home.

“People nowadays are becoming very aware of what they get rid of and keep,” said Smith. “Where folks used to just throw stuff in the trash and move on, they realize that the old adage is so very true; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. When we took over the Goodwill location we knew that there was still a need for it and people enjoyed shopping in a store with so many treasures, we just plan on making it work.”

The south end location is still open and enjoying great success, but the new spot is now available and ready for the strolling nice-weather shoppers who head downtown each year. With two levels of stuff from clothes to household trinkets to toys, Smith says that there is something for everyone.

“Our opening day was fantastic and the weekend exceeded all our expectations,” said Smith. “We heard a lot of people in awe of some of the items and everybody loved the prices. We see a lot of people finding rare books that they longed to get as well as toys from years gone by that bring back some nostalgia. The clothes here are great with prices from $4.99 to $39.99 which a lot of folks enjoy because big stores are just so overpriced.”

While Smith says that the Bryne Drive location is where he hopes folks will take all their drop-offs still, if needed the downtown location can take some smaller items if need be; which fits into the shop local feel of the area.

“I’d prefer people continue to use our bigger location for drop-offs, but at the same time we can accommodate on Dunlop too,” said Smith. “Truly it’s what the new shop is all about, having folks from close by walk over with items to drop off and pick up something that might catch their eye. It is such a small-town feel, you know? The conversations that are created in here are just as important as well; people will chat for a while about some item and its significance to them and get back to getting to know your neighbour.”

For more information on Stuff, check out their website at www.stuffshoppe.ca or on social media, Facebook, Instagram at @stuffshoppeinc, and Twitter at @stuff_shoppe.