June 13, 2000 saw the opening of Kansas City’s first and largest Habitat ReStore facility at 4701 Deramus.  Our 33,000 square foot warehouse holds an abundance of new and used building materials, all available at deeply discounted prices to the general public.  Since opening, ReStore has been very successful in recruiting a variety of sources for merchandise including individuals, professional remodelers, manufacturers and distributors, home builders and many others looking for an alternative to throwing usable materials in the landfill.

Here are some figures to put our phenomenal growth into context.  In 2000, we averaged monthly gross sales of $10,000 and diverted 16 tons of material. In 2007, the monthly average gross sales were $132,000 and diversion per month was 217 tons.  Because of support from both shoppers and donors, we are now able to provide funding to our Habitat affiliate to cover all the administrative and fundraising expenses, as well as directly fund the construction of Habitat Kansas City homes.  This means that Habitat for Humanity’s additional fundraising efforts are directed wholly toward the funding of new home construction. 

We at ReStore are investigating the possibility of expanding our operation into the neighborhoods where Habitat Kansas City homes are located.  We believe we can establish a smaller operation within inner city neighborhoods and drastically increase the availability of our merchandise to homeowners.  This will also increase accessibility of our facility those wanting to drop off donations.  This project, ReStore 2.0, is a future endeavor but we are researching the feasibility now. As we make progress on this effort, we will keep the community informed through our quarterly e-newsletter. Sign up for our Email Newsletter.