St. Matthew’s House Opens Location on Collier Boulevard

There’s a new thrift store in town.

Well, right up the road. St. Matthew’s House, the longstanding Naples-based charity that is so much more than a homeless shelter, has opened a new “pop-up” store at the Naples Coastal Shoppes on Collier Blvd., on the way from Marco Island to the rest of the world. 

The new store is located to tap into the Marco Island market, both for donations and merchandise sales, as well as nearby communities such as Fiddler’s Creek and Artesia, said St. Matthew’s director of retail operations Daniel Moore. 

"We have folks from Marco Island, Goodland, even Everglades City” patronizing and donating to their thrift stores, he said. “Now they have a store they can call their own.” The new store was already doing a steady business on October 1, the day of the grand opening, with shoppers combing through racks and shelves of merchandise, as well as stopping by to drop off donations. 

Don Caster from Fiddler’s Creek unloaded several framed pieces of artwork from his car and said donating to St. Matthew’s House is a good feeling. 

“This is a great organization we love to support. We always drove to the Airport Rd. store, but we saw the sign here. This is a nice location,” he said, noting that “when you have a big piece of furniture (to donate), they’ll pick it up.” 

Another reason for locating the new store where it is, said Moore, is there are already two churches in the strip center. One additional reason could be that Naples Coastal Shoppes, just before the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center but on the opposite side of Collier Blvd., has had a troubled history, with merchants coming and going, and there is plenty of retail space available. The St. Matthew’s location, in suite 170 at the end closest to Marco Island, is easy to find, and unlike on Marco Island, there is plenty of parking right there. 

Inside the store on the first official day of operations, shoppers were finding and buying bargains in many categories. Asked what her “sweet spot” for merchandise was, store manager Rachael Jacobson didn’t hesitate. 

“We have a lot of clothing and a lot of furniture,” she said. Caster echoed the last point saying, “a lot of people refurnished their homes after Hurricane Ian” with pieces from St. Matthew’s – and that was when they still had to drive to the “flagship store” on Airport Road. 

In addition to all the “gently used” items, the store sells quite a lot of new merchandise due to partnerships with retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Fed Ex, and others, said Moore. Some of those new items are shoes, and some of the shoppers got excited when they contemplated the bargains available. 

“Ten bucks!” called out Janet Beck as she tried on sneakers with her friends Linda Piff and Diane King. The trio said they also shop at Bargain Basket on Marco and were delighted to have this new destination to augment their “thrifting.” 

Elizabeth and Ula Oastes, along with Aga Gosek, visiting from Poland, purchased a pair of couches for a condo they are furnishing on Marco. 

“We love shopping here and supporting the cause,” said Elizabeth. “Whenever we need something, this is our first stop.”

In addition to the furniture and apparel, a host of home decoration items filled the space inside the store. Bird cages, sculptures, decorative bowls, crystal candles, glassware, dishes, lamps, board games such as Skittles, along with personal grooming supplies like face masks, fancy soaps, makeup kits shared space with bunkbeds, sectional tables, and rocking chairs. Almost all are one of a kind, so if you see it and you want it, don’t count on it still being in the store when you make up your mind and come back. 

Even the store itself might not be there. It’s called a pop-up because St. Matthew’s is not committing to keeping the location open past next April. 

“We’ll have to see,” said Moore, speaking of the “seasonality of Southwest Florida.” He did say “I like this location – the industrial interior is really cool,” and added that “we’ve had so much support from Marco Island and nearby communities. 

The Collier Blvd. location, which St. Matthew’s is calling their Marco Naples Thrift Store, is the seventh location, from the flagship thrift store on Airport-Pulling Rd. up to Bonita Springs and Fort Myers. In all, St. Matthew’s “social enterprises,” including their catering business, event space rental, and the Port Labelle Inn, cover “85 percent of our administrative costs,” said Moore. “We don’t currently take government funding.” 

Another avenue of giving to St. Matthew’s House with a strong Marco connection is the annual Thanksgiving food drive. Longtime coordinator Bill Filbin said that once again, people can pick up trays to fill with holiday-related food from the Board of Realtors on Marco Island, and drop them off, filled, on Thanksgiving morning. 

The St. Matthew’s House Marco Naples Thrift Store, at 6040 Collier Blvd., Suite 170, is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.