After more than 31 years on Cherokee Street, the Salvation Army has closed its thrift store and plans to sell the storefront on the up-and-coming shopping street.
The store closed unexpectedly and quietly in March, laying off some employees and transferring the remaining staff and merchandise to its larger store at 4121 Forest Park Avenue.
Get a fresh take on the day’s top news
Subscribe to the St. Louis Daily newsletter for a smart, succinct guide to local news from award-winning journalists Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull.
See also: Portrait of a Neighborhood: The People and Places of Cherokee Street
Salvation Army Major K. Kendall Mathews says the popular Cherokee Street store has been operating at a deficit for years as average income levels in the surrounding neighborhood dropped. As more Latinos have moved into the neighborhood, the street has increasingly become a hub for Hispanic restaurants, businesses and shops.
“The community has changed drastically,” Mathews tells SLM. “While traffic is heavy, the income hasn’t gone up greatly. It had become a store that was not performing the way it performed fifteen years ago, ten years ago, even five years ago.”
Revenue from thrift stores supports Salvation Army’s rehabilitation centers, so Mathews says the non-profit is focusing resources on larger stores in neighborhoods such as the Central West End, Belleville, Arnold and Florissant.
“These are areas where the median income is higher, which has an impact on whether or not that store can really pay for itself,” Mathews says.
Salvation Army is doubling down on its Forest Park Avenue store as Ikea, the Swedish furniture retail giant, builds its first St. Louis-area store nearby.
“We’ve relocated in an effort to get ready for this new economic burst that’s going to happen,” Mathews says. “We’re welcoming them to the community knowing the traffic is going to increase.”
The Salvation Army will now sell the 2823 Cherokee Street storefront it’s owned since 1981. Mathews says he’s already received three calls from prospective buyers, including two who are Latino. Salvation Army won’t rent out the building.
“We want to keep it in the community,” says Mathews. “We want to sell it to a local person, a local group, to complement the current development taking place there.”
