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  • Globe//Roger Nomer . . . Captain Jason Poff talks about the Salvation Army's plans for the former J-Town building on south Main.

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March 2, 2010

<img src=" http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/tuesday.gif" border=0> Former J-Town building will house new thrift store

A onetime popular Joplin nightspot, J-Town Billiards Sports Bar and Grill, 2502 S. Main St., will become the site of the new family thrift store for the Joplin Salvation Army.

Capt. Jason Poff of the Joplin Salvation Army, who recently returned from a month of relief work in Haiti, said the existing thrift store at Seventh Street and Kentucky Avenue will be moved to the much larger J-Town building.

“For years and years, we have wanted to own our own thrift store,” he said. “We rent the store at Seventh and Kentucky. We have rented that place and several others, including what is now the Chocolate Factory, around town.

“We even looked at some property on North Range Line, but that deal fell through. When J-Town become available, we started negotiating. That was in October.”

The property, formerly a grocery store, was sold by Steven Hoag to the Salvation Army on Dec. 9. J-Town opened in about 1999.

Poff said that when he left for Haiti, it appeared that the conversion of J-Town into a thrift store would be a fairly easy procedure.

“When I came back, I found out it would not be so easy,” he said. “We thought with some paint and a few walls, we would be good. Now, we have to provide an architect’s drawings and renderings.

“We are still hoping to be done with the remodeling and be in there by May or June. It will double the thrift store space we have.”

The existing store, he said, was not designed to be a retail center. It was the home of the McDonough Volkswagen dealership many years ago.

“With the J-Town property, you’ll be able to walk in the door and everything will be right there. We are excited about that,” Poff said. “It will feel better inside and be better for business.”

The Salvation Army’s thrift store has seen a steady increase in business the past year and a half.

“The economy has forced people who would not necessarily shop at a secondhand store to consider that,” Poff said. “We’ve changed our management, too. The combination of those two things has caused the business to do better. What’s important to note is that our thrift store funds our programs.”

The Salvation Army also operates a warehouse at Eighth Street and Grand Avenue. The move to J-Town will free up space there and create a permanent home for the organization’s Christmas center. The thrift store employs about four people. About that many people also work at the warehouse.

Poff said the Salvation Army intends to remodel the exterior of the J-Town building and “do our part to make Main Street look a little better.”

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