Ever Good Stuff thrift store opens in Yellowknife

Ever Good Stuff, a new Yellowknife thrift store, held its grand opening on Friday morning at 5018 47 Street. “I’m excited, but I’m also scared,” declared co-owner Johanne Black.

Black, who will run Ever Good Stuff with her partner, Eric, said she was exhilarated at the prospect of turning her number-one passion into a business.

“I’m very nervous,” she told Cabin Radio. “It’s the first time opening up a thrift store, but I’m a thrift store-holic so I thought I might as well do something that I love.

“I thought I could do something that I like but also geared toward what people want in Yellowknife, too, which is a deal, because everything is so expensive.”

Black’s plan involves sourcing goods at the best price she can find down south, then bringing them north to her store. She hopes to provide people with a bigger variety of items than they might have found otherwise.

Asked how she amassed the many hundreds of items stacked inside a converted downtown house on 47 Street, Black said: “It’s taken some time, I tell you! I’ve been shopping for the past six months toward this.

“I’ve done numerous quick trips down south and went on big shopping sprees in order to fill the store up. It was lots of fun. That’s the fun part of the job.”

The store is cash-only for the time being, its owners stated in a Facebook post on Friday. Preparations for the grand opening were hastily made over the past seven days.

“I don’t even know how to run this cash register right now,” Black admitted, with a laugh, 15 minutes before the store was due to open. Her partner will take care of the store full-time, while she helps out around her current job.

“It’s going to take me a while to go through a crash course on how to run that cash register, but I’ll get there.”