Community Thrift Store Looks Back at 40 Years

Since it opened in 1982, Community Thrift Store (CTS) has become a mainstay of the Mission District. Part of what makes CTS so special is the many different ways it serves the neighborhood—bargain hunters and collectors find some of their best treasures here, downsizers donate to the cause of their choice, and environmentalists appreciate our Green Business Certification. Whether you are a shopper, donor, or neighbor, it is important to know that our 200+ charity partners are at the heart of everything we do.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

In 2022, we celebrated our 40th year by using our social media and email list to highlight some of our long-time charity partners, as well as invite shoppers and donors to share their CTS stories with us. We also said thank you with monthly 40% sales. Additionally, this anniversary inspired us to look back at the history of CTS as well as reflect on our future.

Community Thrift Store in 1983. Photo by Max Kirkeberg Courtesy of The Max Kirkeberg Collection

Tavern Guild of San Francisco: The Community Thrift Store Legacy

Community Thrift Store was originally founded by the Tavern Guild which was the first gay business association in the United States. Formed in 1962, the Tavern Guild was originally comprised of San Francisco bar owners who organized in the wake of rising tension between the gay community and local authorities. The group created unified pricing and procurement structures for bars, tracked police raids, and provides funds for unemployed members as well as bail money for people who were arrested in police raids of gay bars.

The Tavern Guild began hosting San Francisco’s Beaux Arts Ball in 1963, which is believed to be the first public drag ball of its kind. The Beaux Arts Ball became an iconic annual tradition and inspired many charitable drag balls across the country. As the Tavern Guild gained momentum and influence throughout the 1960’s, they increased their charitable work. Money was raised for local LGBT causes as well as worker’s rights and civil rights movements across the country.

In 1982, the Tavern Guild established Community Thrift Store as a brick and mortar social enterprise to provide funding to Bay Area charities. In March of 1983 the first disbursement of $7,985.39 was made to charity partners, including San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Shanti Project, Kaposi’s Sarcoma Foundation, Women’s Switchboard, National Gay Rights Advocates, Women’s Building, Huckleberry Youth, Community United Against Violence (CUAV), Women Inc, The Golden Gate Men’s Chorus and more. Many of the organizations who partnered with CTS in the early days are still active collaborators today.

In 1993 the Tavern Guild purchased the Community Thrift Store building at 623 & 625 Valencia Street. This would prove to be a prudent decision as commercial rents in the area continue to rise. As other thrift stores have struggled to stay open in San Francisco, CTS has remained a beacon of affordability and sustainability, as well as a much needed source of funding for local non-profits.

“Shanti is honored to celebrate 40 years of partnership with Community Thrift Store—since the store first opened in 1982! Over the years, funding from Community Thrift Store (thanks to generous donors who chose to support Shanti) has made a significant impact on our operations. Specifically, the financial contributions have helped make it possible for Shanti to thrive and continually evolve to meet the emerging needs of our community. We are truly grateful for the partnership and look forward to many years ahead!”

—Scarlett Chidgey, Director of Development at Shanti Project, a non-profit that has partnered with Community Thrift Store since 1982

Community Thrift Store in 1995. Photo by Max Kirkeberg , courtesy of the Max Kirkeberg Collection

CTS Recent History

In 2017, Community Thrift Store became a certified San Francisco Green Business. We are proud of this distinction and we work hard to continue improving our sustainable practices. In 2020, for the first time ever, the store closed for an extended period of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as we were able to, we returned to offer curbside shopping and gradually resumed in-store shopping with safety precautions in place. Given our history of working with HIV advocacy and other healthcare organizations, we have gone above and beyond to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers, and shoppers.

The Future of Community Thrift Store

Everyone who works at Community Thrift Store is honored to be involved in an organization with a rich history of supporting worthy causes and giving back to our neighbors. We are grateful to our donors and shoppers and dedicated to serving our many charity partners.

Get in touch to wish us a happy anniversary or let us know if you have any suggestions for Community Thrift Store as we look forward to the next 40 years!