ReStore, selling household items, building materials, planned for Bowling Green

BOWLING GREEN — Habitat for Humanity of Wood County is opening a ReStore, which the executive director describes as a cross between a Goodwill and a Home Depot.

Mark Ohashi said the ReStore will offer at thrift-store prices household items and building materials that are donated from community members.

“We get donated product from the community, from local businesses — furniture, appliances, building materials — and then sell it to the public at reduced prices,” Mr. Ohashi said.

The location will be at the former Bee Gee Rental & Sales Inc. store at 829 W. Newton Rd., which closed in December, 2022.

Habitat will officially purchase the 14,000-square-foot building in September for $950,000, Mr. Ohashi said. The ReStore could open in January.

Profits from the ReStore will be used to build Habitat homes in Wood County, he said.

“The Restore presents an unrestricted source of funding,” Mr. Ohashi said. “The idea is we want to be more self-reliant, to be able to do more projects, to increase our capacity to help more families. In order to accomplish that, we need more funding, and the ReStore becomes a source of funding that supports the mission.”

According to Wood County auditor records, the VanVorhis family sold the West Newton Road land and facility to AG Pro Real Estate Investments II LLC in March, 2023, for $950,000.

Habitat for Humanity of Wood County just dedicated its 54th home and has three more builds planned for this year.