Bizarre Bazaar opens its doors on new home

By Reader Staff

Bonner County’s upscale resale shop Bizarre Bazaar is nearly ready to open the doors at its new address, 114 S. Boyer Ave. — next to Smokesmith Bar-B-Que. Bizarre Bazaar is the primary funding arm of the Community Assistance League, a nearly 50-year-old staple in the county’s community service sector, which serves as a source of funding for local students and nonprofits through grants and scholarships.

Unlike families who move, this wasn’t a couple weeks of packing boxes culminating in a moving van for a day — this was a long project.

“We actually began nearly two-and-a-half years ago,” stated former-CAL President Beth Drain. “There’s been a good deal of uncertainty about the future of our location on Church Street, so we determined that the wise course was to look for an alternative location. A small team scoured greater Sandpoint looking at everything from rental, for-sale and raw land properties, which might suit our unique needs.”

Current President Joyce Price added: “Not only are we a nonprofit, but we know that the community counts on us to fund grants and scholarships every spring. We wanted — no, we needed — to be careful with every penny we would spend.”

That meant strategic savings for several years in the event that a move needed to be funded. It meant weighing the decision to move against current and future costs, as well as convenience to customers. And it meant doing it all with volunteers.

Cherie Warber, longtime co-manager of the shop, praised the efforts of many. 

“Not only did each of our department heads take careful inventory of what to move and how to manage it, but husbands and friends jumped in, too. Marilyn Brown’s husband Rudy and Linda Zinn’s husband Tom both had prior experience in the building trades — they have patiently managed each detail of the ‘tenant improvements’ necessary to turn a Taekwondo studio-turned-physical therapy center into retail space.

However, it was CAL members who tackled the past several weeks of hard work of sorting, packing, hauling and restocking. 

“The public — our customers — only have seen about one third of our space. What’s behind the scenes is staggering: back stock, out-of-season items, plus the equipment and paperwork that is part of any nonprofit organization,” Warber stated.

According to Co-Manager Carol Visger, “When donations come in, volunteers sort and then make each item ready for sale. That means washing, ironing, cleaning, polishing, repairing and finally pricing. That’s all part of the ‘back-of-the-house’ work that customers never see. And it’s all done by volunteers.”

The community can see the results beginning Saturday, Aug. 24 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The soft opening allows CAL volunteers to work out any kinks and help customers get familiar with the new layout. There are 13 designated parking spots, as well as street parking on Lake and Pine streets. The grand opening will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7.

“Bizarre Bazaar is successful because of a unique three-way partnership: the CAL volunteers who run the store, the community that shops there, and friends and neighbors all over the area who donate their gently used goods,” the organization stated in a news release. “Although personal monetary donations are always welcome, the bulk of the monies CAL is able to give back to the community comes from store proceeds. CAL has gifted nearly $2.5 million in grants and scholarships to date.”

For more information, contact Jan Harrison at [email protected] or 360-340-2195.