E-mail SBCC Thrift Shop (Op Shop)

Location: 214 Christian Ave, Stony Brook (next to the church). See directions/map to church on home page.

  Shop hours:
Mon-Tuesday: closed
Wed-Thursday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Friday- Sat 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Sun: closed
Tel: 631-751-9733

The Op Shop sells good quality, gently used clothing, shoes, costume jewelry, small household items, kitchenware, books, bric-a-brac. We do not accept donations of furniture, TV's, large appliances. Our space is limited!

Donations are tax deductible according to applicable laws. Call for best time to drop off donations.

Cheerful volunteers always needed. Call Coordinator Elsie Cadicamo for details.

A Brief History of the Op Shop

Over thirty years ago, a new enterprise started in a small house adjacent to the Stony Brook Community Church at 214 Christian Ave. The Opportunity Shop, affectionately known as the Op Shop for short, was an idea conceived by long-term Stony Brook resident Waveney Bowman. She brought the idea here after visiting her hometown in Devonport, New Zealand in 1974, where her childhood neighborhood church ran a successful Op Shop of its own.

 A team of willing helpers transformed the old bungalow, which had served over its 200-year history as a private residence, a candy store, a haberdashery, a doctor's office and finally a teenage drop-in coffee house. The interior of the house was completed remodeled, painted and filled with community-donated, gently used clothing, kitchen utensils, costume jewelry and bric-a-brac.

 Soon people came from far and wide to browse and pick up a bargain or two. The Op Shop rapidly became a fixture in the community, a social center, a place to drop off useful items no longer needed and a source of income for the church. Almost $300,000 has been generated since its opening according to Op Shop Coordinator Elsie Cadicamo, who manages the roster of coordinators as well as directing the collection and processing of donations. "It's hard imaging how the church could have managed all these years without us. We've done particularly well in times of high inflation, when people were nervous about spending lots of money on clothing in an uncertain economy".

 Mrs. Cadicamo also said that it is becoming more difficult finding volunteers in an age when many more women work than when the store first opened. She is always interested from hearing from local residents who would like to join the cheerful group of volunteers who keep the Op Shop running throughout the year.