Circular Store in downtown Guelph closing its doors
A year after it opened in the downtown core, the Guelph Tool Library’s Circular Store is closing – but organizers are hopeful it won’t be gone for long.
“We are the only thrift store in downtown Guelph,” said Claire Cowan, chair of the GTL’s board of directors, highlighting the shop’s importance.
The Circular Store opened in February 2023, serving as a thrift store and mini recycling centre. Along with offering goods at low costs, the location accepted hard to recycle items like cell phones, eye glasses, coffee packaging, disposable razors and shampoo bottles.
By March 28, the racks and shelves will be cleared.
Loyal customers said they’re sad to see it go.
“We don’t want to lose our store because there’s people out there that don’t have the money that can’t afford it,” said Janice Furlano.
The shop’s sliding scale pricing has made their offerings more accessible for people like her. The location also added to its accessibility.
“I only live down the street, so all I do is just walk down and come here,” Furlano said.
The shop is also close to city bus routes and within walking distance of many vital downtown services.
Despite the store’s success, which made it more of a permanent fixture rather than the pop-up shop it started out as, there are several closing sales for the remainder of the month.
The shop cannot operate any longer because funding from the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad has run out, which helped cover their expenses.
“We are looking for new funding opportunities, new ideas of how to keep the Circular Store [going],” said Cowan.
The Guelph Tool Library, meanwhile, will remain open for people who can pay an annual fee of $60 to rent out various tools and household items.
While the thrift store may be closing, organizers hope it won’t be long before they can welcome people back.
“We are saying goodbye for now,” Cowan added. “Not goodbye forever.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Tornadoes collapse buildings and level homes in Nebraska and Iowa
Tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes, many around Omaha, Neb.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.