Aug. 17, 2018

A common interest in buying the contents of storage units led two co-workers to start a thrift shop.

Mark Davis and Terry Brooks discovered their shared pastime when they were out on their route together. They quit their jobs at the end of June and opened 605 Thrift in mid-July at 523 N. Kiwanis Ave. Their wives, Michele Davis and Delores Brooks, also help with the business when they aren’t working their full-time jobs.

Brooks and his wife used to have an annual rummage sale at their house that just kept getting bigger and bigger, Davis said.

“Terry said, ‘If I had a building out here, I could have this open all the time,’ ” Davis said. They started mapping out their business plan a year ago.

Now, their 3,000-square-foot display space is filled with everything from household items and furniture to clothing and toys. 605 Thrift accepts unwanted items, but Davis and Brooks do most of the “treasure hunting” themselves.

They’ve found storage units filled with “Grandma’s quilts” and pieces of clothing that still have price tags on them, Davis said.

The store has a 1,000-square-foot space with a washer and dryer, and room for getting other merchandise ready to be sold.

“Unless it’s new with a tag, we wash everything,” Davis said. If anything is stained or ripped, it’s thrown out. Other items are sanitized before they go on the sales floor. Davis and Brooks check appliances to make sure they work.

New items are being added all the time. They have five large storage units in Tea, one in Sioux Falls, a barn in Harrisburg and Brooks’ four-stall garage that are filled with inventory.

“We’re looking at a 900-square-foot storage unit today,” Davis said. “We’re hurting for space.”

Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.