Shopping recycled in Lake County just got a little harder: the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Painesville has closed.

Painesville Armory, formerly the Lake County Habitat for Humanity ReStore (photo: Lenore Collins)

I found the store, formerly located in the old Painesville Armory at the corner of Fairgrounds Road and Mentor Avenue, empty and vacant when I stopped there on October 5. As I got back into my car, after looking through the front door and seeing nothing but a merchandise rack at the rear of an otherwise empty space, two more cars drove into the parking lot.

We expressed our disappointment at losing a shop-recycled resource, shared accounts of successful purchases (including my $30 end table and $25 brass-and-beveled-glass light fixture), and talked about other Habitat for Humanity ReStores in the area, notably the ReStore in Cleveland on W. 110 Street, north of Lorain Avenue (map).

Attempts to obtain information about the Painesville ReStore came up just about dry:

• Online search results for the Lake County Habitat for Humanity affiliate listed only nearby affiliates in Newbury, Cleveland, Ashtabula, and Ravenna.
• Although the search results also showed a phone number and email link for the Painesville ReStore itself, a phone call reached a disconnect report, and an email received no response.
• Habitat for Humanity International responded to an October 29 email inquiry with the news that “Habitat for Humanity of Lake County is currently winding down its operations.”

Shop-recycled enthusiasts should still keep Habitat for Humanity ReStore on their lists, however. Although the Painesville store has closed, Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations in Cleveland, Lorain, Medina, and Newbury (Geauga County) will welcome Lake County shoppers, as will any of the Ohio Habitat for Humanity ReStore locations.

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