NU2U Again founder Lisa Rentschler, her son Connor Rentschler, vice president Allison Bradley, general manager Tracy Stapnowski, and store manager Ashley Hill show off their new location on Carpenter Rd. | Photo by J. Adrian Wylie
Nu2U Again, the Saline thrift store with a mission to employ and serve people with disabilities, is adding an Ann Arbor location at Carpenter and Packard.
“We have great support from our community here,” says Allison Bradley, vice president of the nonprofit organization. It opened in 2018 in the Commons at Sauk Trail on Michigan Ave. and expanded into a neighboring space two years ago.
“We have great donations and so many people that want to work, and we can only grow so much” in Saline, Bradley says. “So we wanted to go into another community. That way we can partner with a different community and help those individuals.”
Their new 11,000-square-foot storefront in Carpenter Plaza had been vacant since the departure of Tuesday Morning in 2019. After a build-out including a new interior wall and dressing rooms and switching out seventy-two light panels to LEDs, they hoped to open in late July. “Without the teamwork of everybody, we would not be able to do this,” she emphasizes. Tracy Stapnowski will be the general manager.
The Saline store employs nearly fifty people, about half of whom have some form of disability. “It’s just amazing to see the growth they have and the self-confidence they build and just so many life skills,” Bradley enthuses. “It’s more than just a job for them.”
Related: Nu2U Again
The program includes customized coaching and pay above Michigan’s $10.33 minimum hourly wage. “We have some people that [said], ‘You know, my last job wouldn’t even let me touch the cash register.’ And we were like, ‘Okay, let’s change that!’” Bradley says. “They want to learn, so we teach them.”
They partner with organizations including Saline Area Schools and Eisenhower Center to find, train, and support employees and to donate proceeds. They plan to work similarly with the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti schools for the new location.
The growth of Nu2U Again seems to have vindicated the “leap of faith” of founder and executive director Lisa Rentschler, who with her husband, Greg, personally guaranteed the lease on the Saline store.
Nu2U’s regular sales include bags of (most) clothing for $10, bags of books for $7, and buy-one-get-one for wall art, frames, and mirrors. Red slashes on the price tags of merchandise that’s been around a while indicate half price. Rotating categories go on sale each week, and there’s always 10 percent off for teachers, military, first responders, and seniors.
Donations, their sole source of inventory, are accepted during business hours until thirty minutes before closing. Bradley says they’ve learned to take “as many steps as possible before having to throw something away,” including donating to social services and recycling textiles, batteries, and even the copper from the cords of nonfunctional electronics.
“We don’t want to stop here,” Bradley continues. “We want to keep going into other communities and help as many individuals with disabilities as we can. If we can make just the littlest change and show them that they’re as worthy and deserving as everybody else, then I call that a win.”
Nu2U Again, 3140 Carpenter Rd. (734) 356–4232. Mon.–Fri. 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sat. noon–5 p.m. Closed Sun. nu2uagainresale.org
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