Dustin Stordahl remembers how he felt back in 2019 when he was on the verge of opening Community Thrift in Richland. He was nervous.

He had a young family, and he’d invested quite a bit of money into the dream of opening a thrift store that would give back to the community.

“It was like, ‘I hope this works, or we’re going bankrupt,’” he said with a laugh.

It did work – quite well, in fact. About five years on, Community Thrift is doing strong enough business that Stordahl is opening a store in Kennewick.

It’ll be in the former Baum’s shop at 513 N. Edison St. The hope is to open in November or December at the latest, after some renovations.

“We just love (the community’s) continued support, and we’re glad we can offer services in Kennewick,” Stordahl said.

He got into the thrift store business after working as the information technology manager for Goodwill Industries of the Columbia. When he learned that Goodwill was discontinuing its pick-up service, he saw an opportunity to fill a need and flex his entrepreneurial muscle.

Community Thrift was born. 

The Richland location – on Wellsian Way – sells gently used clothing and other items, such as kitchenware and electronics, with a portion of the retail proceeds going to help nonprofits in the community. 

Community Thrift takes donations on-site and at mobile drop-off locations, and it offers donation pick-up throughout the Tri-Cities area.

Stordahl said a donation trailer will be set up at the new Kennewick shop ahead of the opening. He owns the North Edison Street building, which also is home to Solarium Tanning and a Washington Army National Guard recruiting office.

Stordahl bought the 12,500-square-foot building this summer for $2.4 million, with help from a 504 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Community Thrift will occupy about 7,500 square feet.

Stordahl expects the renovations to cost about $150,000. Booth & Sons Construction in Kennewick is handling the project, which will include putting in polished concrete flooring, painting and other work.

Owner Dustin Stordahl stands inside the Community Thrift store at 303 Wellsian Way in Richland.

| Photo by Kristina Lord

For Stordahl, the chance to make a difference in the community is an important driver. Community Thrift offers affordable clothing and other items for those looking to watch their wallets, and it aims to make a difference through its donations to various local nonprofits and agencies. 

In 2022, as one example, Stordahl and Community Thrift pledged to pay adoption fees for 25 pups at the Benton County Canine Shelter. 

Stordahl eventually hopes to make an even bigger difference by opening more Community Thrift locations. “One little store making low six figures a year isn’t going to make a huge impact, even if you gave away 100% of the money,” he said. “Whereas if you can get up to ... 10 stores, 20 stores, then you can really have a significant impact and do some cool stuff.”

Stordahl, who has five kids with his wife, Bristi, doesn’t take a salary from Community Thrift. Instead, he still works in the IT field as owner of the IT managed service provider Tower Technologies.

He also owns the junk removal service Clean Up Crew.

Stordahl said he’s excited to expand Community Thrift into Kennewick.

The Richland location has about 14 employees, and he expects to add about 16 at the Kennewick shop. It’s been a good run so far, since those nerve-racking early days, through Covid-19 and now to this time of growth.

“We’re thankful to be here and thankful for all the support,” Stordahl said.