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May 28, 2015 | Bob Kinney

Growth Marks Need for Next-to-New Resale Ministry

[Diolog Magazine] Austin—Next-to-New, a 55-year-old ministry of St. David’s, Austin, will soon expand its 10,000-square-foot store in North Central Austin to enable the iconic landmark store to donate even more grant money to local nonprofits every year. Initially, the resale shop was established by the women of St. David’s to help maintain their historic church and to support outreach efforts.

 

 

“Next-to-New is a consignment, resale and antique store, not a thrift store,” manager Michael Pursley emphasizes. The many eclectic displays of first-rate items for sale in Next-to-New affirms the statement.

 

A tour of the Next-to-New includes:

Rows of gleaming and sturdy classic dinnerware

A variety of glasses and cups to grace any table

Solid wood furniture, from dressers to dining tables and chairs

Racks and racks of quality women’s clothing

An eclectic collection of framed artwork

Children’s furniture: tables and chairs, desks and bookcases

Elegant jewelry

Cuddly children’s dolls and other huggies

Various sizes and styles of rugs

Vintage sofas and chairs

 

  1. On my first visit to Next-to-New, a beautiful 1930s radio was available for $300. Two days later it had been sold.

 

Retired art teacher and Next-to-New volunteer Robin Gurka has deftly created a selling space that is artfully designed and inviting to walk through. She is one of 125 volunteers who work at the store every week, in addition to six paid employees, Pursley said.

 

Gurka will redesign the store’s interior when the planned extension adds 1,300 square feet to the store later this year. The new store footprint will allow all retail to be moved to the ground floor. The store will remain open during construction, Pursley said.

 

The consignment room will be enlarged as well to accommodate more estate collections, said Pursley, who had a 40-year career in storage and moving businesses before joining Next-to-New’s staff in late 2010. Next-to-New splits consignment sales 50-50 with people who bring family collections to the store to be sold.

 

Pflugerville-based Sanford Companies is the contractor for the building project in the fast-developing Burnet Road area. A new five-story apartment complex opened earlier this year to the north of Next-to-New. A similar complex opened two years ago across the street. Austin’s iconic Little Longhorn Saloon—a honky-tonk where real country music is played six evenings a week—is Next-to-New’s neighbor just to the south.

 

The resale store’s current site at 5435 Burnet Road is its fourth location since the first store opened on Lavaca in downtown Austin, October 20, 1959.

 

In recent years, half of Next-to-New’s profit was set aside for expansion costs and the other half given to St. David’s for the church to donate to community outreach organizations.

 

“What a lot of people who give to or purchase from the shop don’t know is that each year Next-to-New gives thousands of dollars back to the community in the form of grants awarded to local nonprofits,” said Jeanie Garrett, director of communications at St. David’s. “These nonprofits serve disabled persons, the homeless, the elderly, the working poor, victims of neglect and abuse, babies and children with HIV/AIDS, the terminally ill, cancer victims, and those who are hungry,” she said.

 

“In 2014, Next-to-New set a new record awarding ten $10,000 grants —back to the community from a store that relies on the community to make it possible. It’s such a testament to how we can all help others and remain true to St. David’s mission of service,” Garrett said.

 

The list of nonprofit community outreach groups is impressive. Receiving grants in 2014 were Austin Children’s Services (formerly The Austin Children’s Shelter);  Junior League of Austin’s Food in Tummies (FIT); AGE of Central Texas’ The Early Memory Loss Support Program; Austin Diaper Bank; The Care Communities; A Community for Education (ACE); People’s Community Clinic’s Center for Adolescent Health; Green Doors’ Pecan Springs Commons; Helping Hand Home for Children’s Kids Closet; and Helping the Aging, Needy and Disabled (HAND) Partnership for Employee Excellence.

 

Kinney was communications director at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin from 1986 to 2009. He is now a freelance writer, photographer and publicist in Austin. See more of his writing and photography at
bobkinney.wordpress.com.

 

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT The NEXT-TO-NEW SHOP AT next2new.org AND LIKE THEM AT facebook.com/TheNextToNewShop.