by Kristina Stucki

Contributor

Community Treasures, which closed in mid-December, has reopened as Treasure Chest, under the leadership of longtime CT employees Red Jungert and Copper Calhoun. The shop is no longer a nonprofit nor a drop-off recycling center, but will instead be focusing on resale and estate sale services.

Previous CT owner (and continued property owner) Frank Penwell closed the doors to the family-owned decades-old business after various family issues. The community response was swift and loud, and Calhoun and Jungert, who have worked with Penwell for a combined 50 years, saved the day by taking on ownership of the business themselves.

“We are downsizing a bit,” Jungert said. “Overhead here can be pretty intense, and we have to watch our expenses. The recycling market really hurt us.”

“The dump is getting more and more expensive for everybody,” Calhoun added, referring to CT previously collecting and sorting recycling and then taking it to the transfer station themselves. “We have to be more discriminating than before because we don’t have as many employees. But it’s working out really well. People are bringing usable, sellable items, we can get them to other people who need them, and everybody’s happy.”

Many islanders bringing donations over the last few months have noticed that a lot of items are getting a “no thank you” if they aren’t in good condition, or even if they’re just a category of stock that’s currently full.

“We aren’t taking much junk,” Jungert explained. “That’s past us. We make sure we have stuff on hand, but we make sure it’s the best quality items we get in and an amount that makes sense for the size community we have. Everybody has been really polite and happy with what we take. And the trade-off is having usable, good-condition items in the store.”

The facility’s condition echoes what they’re saying — everything is really clean and organized. It feels like the same community gem, but less cluttered and with a sense of relief among the customers that such a loss was narrowly avoided.

“I knew it wouldn’t close. It has to be here. It can’t not be here,” said longtime employee Jessi Wolf. “It looked like it was closing for good and I was starting to doubt myself. But when I got the call to come back in, I was pretty stoked. It’s necessary on so many levels. It’s a huge staple for the community. A meeting hub, an artists hub. We need it.”

Drop-off recycling (besides aluminum cans) has been discontinued, and people dropping off items can no longer get a donation receipt since they aren’t a 501(c)(3).

However, thrift store services are up and running, and Treasure Chest is also offering estate sale services, junk removal and cleanup services. (They do recycle items picked up from clients during pickup services.) A handout with all the details can be found at the front counter of the shop and will be online soon.

“We wish them luck in their new endeavor,” Penwell and his wife Patricia shared in a public post about Copper and Red. “We hope you will support them in their journey.”