On Monday October 5th, Arc Thrift Stores is answering the pleas of Denver’s most loyal thrifters by opening their first-ever outlet location. Located on Hooker Street off of Alameda (and across from the IYKYK Frank Azar billboard), the first Arc Outlet location will operate a pay-by-the-pound model for soft and hard goods.
Admittedly, this concept is not new. After all, the Goodwill “bins” have a crucial role in Denver’s reselling economy, with a reputation as the best place for resellers to purchase the most amount of inventory for the lowest price tag.
Until now, that is. Arc Thrift Stores is throwing their hat into the ring, and, of course, they’re committed to doing it their way, ensuring that this new venture takes care of Arc employees, customers, West Denver and Mother Earth all at the same time.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 29th, Arc leadership Maggie Scivicque and Marty Schmitt met at the soon-opening Arc outlet location. That day, they planned a dry run of outlet operations: getting their team comfortable with sorting stock, rotating bins and weighing transactions – even performing what they jokingly referred to as a “butt test” to minimize personal space invasion amongst their customers.
Having worked together for almost two decades, Scivicque and Schmitt are something of a well-oiled duo. That lived-in dynamic now serves as the sturdy foundation for jumping into something new for the organization, a plan that’s finally coming to fruition after years of planning.
On opening day, they plan to bring in customers in shifts, limiting occupancy to both prevent harm and learn from observation about best practices for both customers on the floor and workers in the warehouse.
“We’re really trying to be students here,” Scivicque shared. “We’re hoping our clientele will be patient with us while we learn what works.”
But don’t let those opening day jitters fool you into thinking the outlet opening is out of Scivicque’s comfort zone. Rather, it’s a reflection of Scivique’s expertise behind the wheel – recognizing that the outlet’s success depends on flexibility and community feedback.
As the Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility, Scivique’s daily work revolves around upholding Arc’s mission of affordability, sustainability and advocacy. In preparing to open the new outlet location, Scivique’s focus doesn’t stray from those values.
“We’re going to make sure the neighborhood is happy if it’s the last thing we do,” said Scivicque.
It’s no secret in our city that West Denver sometimes gets the short end of the stick. In opening Arc’s first outlet location in the heart of the area, Scivique is hoping to shift the narrative. In practice, in the weeks leading up to the location’s opening, that has sometimes looked like fielding phone calls from individuals in the neighborhoods, answering their questions and taking in their feedback.
On a larger scale, Scivicque sees the potential for neighborhood support across the board. She’s quick to point out the carnicerias close by for long-haul bins customers’ lunch breaks, and, as the location settles in, she plans to host a rotation of local food trucks in the parking lot, hoping for a win-win operation that, yes, brings in a new clientele for Arc Thrift Stores but also brings in money for surrounding businesses.
In doing so, Scivique’s sights are set on giving West Denver some much-deserved recognition and opportunity. After all, “second chances” are kind of Arc Thrift Store’s whole deal.
READ: Five Denver Thrift Stores for Finding Quality Accessories
At the very least, they’re at the heart of Marty Schmitt’s work, Scivicque’s counterpart and Vice President of Operations for the organization. With a reputation for both mastermind recycling efforts and supporting his recovery community, Schmitt has made a living out of finding second chances. Throughout his tenure at Arc Thrift Stores, Schmitt has put in top-level work toward minimizing waste: shipping plastic to specialized companies, sending textiles overseas for repurposing and ensuring glass, metal and electronic waste are sent to local recycling facilities.
The outlet location, in his eyes, is a worthy extension of that goal.
“We’re taking ‘second chances’ to a whole new level,” Schmitt shared. “We’re giving our products another chance between the store and recycling.”
The outlet location will be stocked with both raw donations and “rag outs” from Arc locations across the state. Typically, when a product hits the racks at a traditional location, it stays there for five weeks. Previously, if the product did not sell within five weeks, it would be “ragged out”: removed from the store and recycled when possible.
Now, those products are sent to Arc’s outlet location. There, they’ll be placed alongside raw donations in large rolling bins, where customers can rummage through and purchase the products at a much-reduced price: $1.99 per pound if it’s a soft good; $0.99 per pound if it’s houseware, electronic or similar; $0.25 for books, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, records, and stuffed animals; and either $5, $10 or $15 for furniture, depending on the size. The rolling bins will rotate regularly, ensuring each batch of product gets a fair chance of finding a new home.
“When you rag out a store, maybe 100,000 people have seen the product,” Schmitt explained. “This outlet gives about another 20,000 people the chance to see it.”
In his words, the outlet location represents a “second, second chance.” It’s also the opportunity of a new home for products that cannot be recycled – like certain types of shoes and furniture, for example.
After that “second, second chance,” all products that can be recycled will still be recycled. Employees at Arc Thrift Stores’ warehouse have undergone a month of training overseen by Schmitt on recycling, forklift operation and customer service. That way, each individual feels comfortable and confident making sure customers feel taken care of, warehouse operations run safely and products avoid the landfill where at all possible.
That month-long training sets the workers up for success: the details in the recycling process become second nature and behind-the-scenes operations run quickly. As soon as a bin comes off the outlet floor, Schmitt shared, it will be sorted and sent away to be reused and repurposed when possible.
“We’re going to recycle them as fast as we sell them,” Schmitt stated.
In that way, on top of kindness for Mother Earth, customers can feel more comfort in knowing that the rolling bins aren’t a death row for the products they shop. Plus, unlike other outlet models, Arc’s new location operates with full transparency between the organization and its customers. More than just an open-door policy, Arc is actually keeping an open door to its back room, where customers can witness the recycling process firsthand.
Nevertheless, Scivicque and Schmitt are enthusiastic about trimming the fat from an already efficient model. Previously, Schmitt estimated that about 50% of the inventory of their traditional locations was sold, 40% was recycled and 10% ended up at the landfill. Arc’s new outlet model will reduce that waste even further. By keeping prices low, workers informed and Denver’s ever-growing resale community satisfied and in-conversation, Arc leadership gives their inventory its best shot at staying the loop of circular consumption rather than the all too common manufacture-to-trash pipeline.
Mirroring that cycle, profits from the store will go back into the causes Arc Thrift Stores was founded on. Arc operates 14 advocacy chapters across Colorado that provide services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These services include individual advocacy for children, families and adults; referral and assistance with applications for governmental programing; information on housing, employment and community connections and public educational presentations regarding parental rights, legal issues, legislation, public policy and the Americans with Disabilities Act, amongst other support.
Each year, Arc makes a concerted effort to increase funding for each of their chapters. In opening the outlet location, Scivicque is eager to see the impact it has on advocacy efforts, strengthening the organization’s commitment to its founding mission.
“Every additional dollar we make gives those chapters a raise,” said Scivicque. “If this can bring in more for the mission, they can provide more services.”
Ultimately, with its new outlet, Arc is making a case for what a thrift store can do beyond keeping prices low and products out of landfills. Soon, the intersection of Hooker and Alameda will also allow sustainability, affordability and community investment to coexist: where customers can grow their businesses, surrounding local shops can welcome new faces and products can avoid a long, lonely landfill death sentence.
As Scivique and Schmitt plan to finally answer Denver thrifters’ longest request, their ears remain open for the next era of customer feedback, now from an entirely new clientele. And the real measure of success will be just how many people get to benefit from second chances.
Arc Thrift Stores Outlet opens Monday, October 5, 2026 at 8 AM, with the official ribbon cutting at 8:30 AM. Standard hours of operations will be 8 AM – 6 PM daily at 255 S Hooker Street, Denver, CO 80219.
