9 New Ways to Shop in Saratoga
A sneak peek at the region's only free store, Heidi Owen West's newest venture, the East Side sneaker store you didn't know existed, Betsy Olmsted's big return, and more.
They say good things happen in threes. When it comes to Spa City shopping, though, apparently, good things happen in nines.
In addition to warm weather, the final Belatoga, and the 15 Church Patio renovation, this season of Saratoga is bringing with it a renewed focus on shopping local at nine new (or new-ish) shops that run the gamut from a jewel-box of a kids’ store to an old favorite reimagined in the Downtown Marketplace. There’s also a gourmet market outpost, an alleyway shop dedicated to discounts, a vintage store conceived of by a beloved local bartender, and an ode to local artisans on Broadway. But first, the grand re-opening of a secondhand store at which no money is actually exchanged.
1. The Franklin Free Store
Right off the bat I’ll say that Franklin Community Center’s Free Store isn’t new, by any means. It’s been at 101 Washington Street, where it serves shoppers who are struggling to make ends meet, since 1990. But last week, the longtime Saratoga lifeline got a much-needed refresh thanks to FCC Volunteer and Community Engagement Coordinator Julianna Luciano, Operations & Franklin Free Store Coordinator Ally Denison, and a whole team of community volunteers.
“Currently, the Free Store serves more than 8,000 people each year by providing adult and children’s clothing, kitchen and household goods, games, toys, and more—all completely for free,” Julianna tells me. (Think of a food pantry, but for clothing and household items.) “Monday through Friday from 9am–noon, anyone from the community can come and shop. They can come up to two times a month and shop for 20 minutes and fill two bags. We have a basic check-in procedure, but we don’t restrict based on income or anything like that.”
Up until now, the Free Store has been functional, but it was definitely in need of some TLC. Thanks to six corporate volunteer groups and more than 60 volunteers, the space has been cleaned, painted, and zhuzhed up, with new clothing displays, a reimagined check-in area, a bathroom update, and what Julianna affectionately calls a lobby—two chairs just inside the door. “At the end of the day, everything we do is to benefit the shoppers,” she says. “We want them to come into a space that's been maintained and cleaned feels like a real store that’s not through a service agency. But this is also for our donors, when they come in to drop off things, and the volunteers who staff the store. We can’t do anything without them.”
On Tuesday, Julianna and Ally unveiled the new-and-improved Free Store to a small crowd of FCC volunteers—the people who have spent hours donating their time in the old space.
“Oh, this is way brighter,” one person said.
“It looks so much bigger,” said someone else.
“I never knew this was a bay window,” yet another person exclaimed.
And the comments kept on coming. My personal favorite? “It actually looks like a store.”
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