Lucknow's Me 2 U Thrift the next chapter in a family's story
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
These days, shopping second-hand has never been more popular, and Lucknow’s Me 2 U Thrift Store’s frequently rotating selection and reasonable prices is quickly making it a favourite amongst locals and visitors alike. The store may look small from the outside, but looks can be deceiving - there’s never a shortage of huntable bargains to be found within, both practical and unusual.
Owner Mistica Boel only took over ownership of the long-standing Lucknow institution in January, but she’s already put her own unique stamp on the space. She’s been giving the shop a little bit of an update in recent months, adding change rooms, a debit machine and accessibility ramps, as well as a searchable database of the inventory on the Me 2 U website. She uses her well-trained eye to scour garage sales and yard sales, choose consignment items she knows will sell, and pare down her stock to make room for new items. The store also recently added a “fill a bag of clothes for $5” rack, which has quickly become a smash hit. It’s not unusual to find reliable brands like American Eagle or Gap on the rack mingling with one-of-a-kind vintage pieces just looking for the right fashionista to give them a home.
One of the many new things she has on the go this year is participating in the Huron County Thrift Store Trail - one of the many interesting area initiatives intended to increase community engagement in local business and events. The trail is a “Make Your Own Route” crawl through the hidden gem thrift stores of the area. You’re not going to find old standards like the Goderich Goodwill or the Wingham ReStore on this list - it’s only got the deepest deep cuts of the county, from Noah’s Ark and Dove’s Nest in Exeter to 5R’s Thrift Store in Brussels. Zurich’s Community Store also made the cut, as did Of Rack and Room in Clinton and IODE in Goderich. If you go to any of the shops on the trail, you can ask for a stamp card, and get one stamp for every purchase over $25. Collect enough stamps and you get 50 per cent off your next purchase, up to $50. The stamps are valid at all of the stores along the trail.
And how has the trail been working out for Boel’s shop? “A lot of people are taking stamp cards - I think we’ve had two or 300 printed just for this store alone!”
But it’s not really about the stamps - it’s about the thrill of bargain hunting, and the search for affordable necessities.
So, how does a first-time store owner like Boel manage to keep things running so smoothly? She’s been training with a master since she was a child, of course. The master in question is Jeanette Porrier, the previous owner of Me 2 U and Boel’s grandmother. “I first started here in Grade 7 or 8 during summer vacation… I just started coming to Jeanette’s [Me 2 U Thrift Store], and asked her if I could help out for the day, and I ended up liking holding the door open for people and seeing them smile - it just made me happy, so I kept on volunteering.” Her early dedication to service has only deepened over the years, which comes in handy frequently - her storefront tends to fill up at a moment’s notice with shop regulars, looky-loos and everybody in between. Boel knows everybody’s name, their dog’s name and what kind of item they’re looking for. Sometimes the customer questions, barking and musings from her daughter Parker all happen at the same time, but Boel wouldn’t have it any other way. “The customers are the best part of the job,” she confirmed.
When Jeanette was the owner, the Me 2 U was a labyrinth of a store located on the other side of Campbell Street. Boel remembers that location fondly. “Across the street, we had this three-in-one store building that would just go and go and go.” That iteration of Me 2 U was perfect for Jeanette’s chaos-theory thrift store style, and her unique shop was a local legend, well-known for its massive selection and her dedication to the needs of her customers. Most people just called her shop “Jeanette’s,” and many community members depended on it for work clothes, gifts, footwear and home essentials. Christmas on a budget was always a little bit easier when the store would hold its annual, December-long 50 per cent off everything in the store sale.
Boel has taken this consumer-compassionate approach to heart for her business as well, and adapted it for the post-pandemic era. Rather than consult the internet for the latest fluctuations in pricing (a trend that has led some larger thrift stores to move to a bruisingly high pricing system), “I worked with Jeanette for 15 years, so she gave me the rundown on how she usually does it, and I also go off my own judgment with the customers. I know how it is with COVID - you just can’t sell things for ridiculous prices. People can’t afford it.” To aid parents for the ever-important back-to-school season, Boel is going to be having a sale on kids’ clothing, school supplies and other essentials. She hopes to change the minds of parents on a budget who are hesitant to make the jump into thrifting. “A lot of the time parents don’t go into thrift stores, they go to dollar stores, but those are so expensive now that it’s cheaper to come here,” she explained. The environmental benefits and higher quality of shopping second-hand is an added bonus.
Having a smaller space requires a lot more curation, which is exactly in Boel’s wheelhouse. Clothing is examined for any stains, flaws or tears before being washed and steam cleaned. Keeping the rest of the stock in order requires a lot of infrastructure, and organization is key - secret shelves, well-anchored hooks and a multitude of compartments help keep all the art, books, light fixtures and kitchen implements in line, while colour-coded stickers help keep track of her rotating sales.
Another one of the young entrepreneur’s passions has been turning the shop’s cluttered window displays into a series of interesting vignettes for locals and visitors to enjoy.
“Jeanette likes to put a lot in the windows, so she gave me some training, but I went my own way… I like to have a specific viewpoint, with items that are all connected to each other.” The displays have had people in town talking, and must-have items on display don’t last long.
Boel’s personal thrifting philosophy is a simple one. “I think a thrift store should be more about family than anything else.” Seeing her daughter Parker lining up a variety of toys on a little table by the door makes it easy to think that Lucknow’s thrifting dynasty is perhaps just beginning.
The Me 2 U Thrift Store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and accepts interesting donations and consignment offers whenever the shop is open.