Alpha Thrift Store Opens on Milpas

The Alpha Resource Center opened its third Alpha Thrift Store and the first in Santa Barbara since it was priced out of its 2006 digs on the 1100 block of State Street. The Hutton Parker Foundation bought the site of the old Salvation Army location on 700 North Milpas Street and also offered the Alpha Resource Center—which supports children and adults with developmental disabilities—a grant to restore the building. Sean Dunn, director of retail operations, said that customers at the two Goleta locations constantly asked whether Alpha would open up a new Santa Barbara store. The old State Street location sold the most merchandise per square foot, but couldn’t afford to pay the asking price, $42,000, its landlord SIMA wanted.