By Dongyun Kwon
The only op shop in Coldstream closed down on Thursday 18 January but will reopen with another owner.
‘Maybe We’ve Got It’, located at the South Gateway shops, was run for 12 years by couple John and Rae Tabone.
Mrs Tabone said her husband was the one who wanted to open up an op shop.
“My husband had gone to other op shops and thought it would be a great thing to do and it can also help the community,” she said.
They donated to Discovery Community Care which supports people experiencing crisis and social isolation in the Yarra Valley and surrounding suburbs.
Mrs Tabone said they had to stop the donation due to the Covid pandemic.
“We were open only about six months during those two years and we haven’t made enough [money],” she said.
The couple tried to make it a community-based op shop so that people could get cheap clothes and goods.
“We tried to keep the prices cheap and if people didn’t have money, we would just give it to them,” Mrs Tabone said.
“We also were able to hand the money directly to a homeless guy, he’s at the corner of Hoddle Street and he had little tents set up there.
“He washed windows for the cars as they waited for the traffic light. I just thought that was enterprising of him and so we would just give him the money we went past all the time.”
After over a decade of operation, the couple recently found a declining number of customers which was one of the reasons they decided to close down the shop.
Mrs Tabone said it was caused by the increasing number of people online shopping.
“We’re closing down tomorrow [Thursday 18 January], but someone else will take it over and the shop will reopen as an op shop,” she said.
“I’m going to miss the people. I loved the social side, but it’s time for me to stop work.”
