Photo by Erin Nelson.
Pamela Cohen, left, and Mindi Shapiro sort through new donations at Full Circle, a second hand thrift store located on Linden Avenue on Feb. 7.
UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly named the BJCC as the former location of Full Circle. It was formerly located at the Levite Jewish Community Center. We regret the error.
An “upscale-resale” boutique called Full Circle has recently opened its new location on Linden Avenue, offering Homewood residents a chance to purchase “high-end” clothes at lower prices while providing job opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities.
Levi Weinbaum, the founder of the store, began a social-recreational program in 2012 called the Friendship Circle for adults with developmental disabilities. When he did, he noticed that while there were many job training services available for them, there weren’t enough job opportunities. Full Circle meets that need, he said.
“We want to create a safe environment for those young adults to work,” Weinbaum said.
Julia Fargason is one of those employees.
“I have found that it’s been really helpful to build up my work stamina and work endurance,” Fargason said. “It helps me develop work skills.”
Fargason said she enjoys seeing the clothes and interacting with coworkers and customers. Weinbaum said Fargason is an expert at organizing items and setting them up for customers to shop.
Stephanie Strauss, another employee, said she enjoys organizing the clothes and the “energy” at the store. Strauss is one of the first faces people see when they walk in the store and is quick to say hello and greet customers with a friendly smile.
The store first began in January 2021 at the Levite Jewish Community Center, which gave Weinbaum a room to try out the concept, which he realized worked, to a certain extent. While he had no problem bringing in donations, there were no customers. Realizing he needed a storefront, he worked to secure the location on Linden Avenue.
Weinbaum works with Fargason and Strauss to determine what kind of hours they need each week, whether that’s an hour, a day or more. The goal is to help them find their niche in a way that is comfortable for them, he said.
To be able to offer these opportunities to young adults such as Fargason and Strauss has been meaningful, and coming to Homewood has helped bring more people, Weinbaum said.
“Moving to Homewood has been a really big game-changer,” he said. “We were literally seeing maybe 25 customers max [at the LJCC] in a month to seeing that now in over a week.
“Customers are picking up and supporting and enjoying their time here,” Weinbaum said.
The store includes a variety of “high-end” coats, jeans, shoes, accessories and more. The type of merchandise is seasonal and dependent upon whatever happened to donate, Weinbaum said.
While some customers have followed the store from the LJCC, most customers now are new, and some have become recurring customers, Weinbaum said. Even with most of the items being designer clothing, he tries to keep the prices at a level that brings people back, he said.
As more and more customers visit, Weinbaum said he believes the store will continue to grow.
“Every week, I see a lot more potential and a lot more hope,” he said.
This month, customers can expect to see spring items coming into the store, Weinbaum said.
The store is at 2902 Linden Ave. and is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. It can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/fullcirclebhm.shop.
