subject: The Best Thrift Stores In and Around Santa Barbara [print this page] The Best Thrift Stores In and Around Santa Barbara
Road trip fans would be hard pressed to find a drive as pretty as the one up or down California's central coast. And what shopper doesn't love a bargain? Sure, drivers going north on California's Highway 1 or 101 (the latter is still scenic, but quicker) from Los Angeles can find some fun deals hitting a few thrift stores while they enjoy the gorgeous scenery. You can be green recycling! and get in some retail therapy. Santa Barbara is a two-hour drive from L.A.
Goleta
Goleta is just ever-so-slightly north of Santa Barbara, and it's the location of the University of California Santa Barbara (you might be familiar with it if you have a college-bound student in your household, and one who craves the waves yes, it's pretty much right off the beach).
Goleta boasts two of the best thrift stores on the Central Coasts, both run by the same organization, Alpha Thrift, which supports programs for people with developmental disabilities, contribute to a major community recycling effort and strengthen the local economy. Alpha Thrift reigns supreme to those who frequent thrift shops. Items are cleaned/dusted before they're shelved or hung and everything is clearly displayed, organized and marked. Shoppers are never assaulted as you can be in many second-hand stores with an unpleasant bevy of either bad smells or annoying music.
While it just makes sense, it also goes without saying that communities with a lot of money are likely to have the best thrift stores. They thrive on donations, nuff said. It's also good to visit stores frequented by the local community meaning, if you shop at a thrift store in a depressed location, it's likely where the locals do their "regular" shopping and you're not as likely to get the "great deals." Goleta, with its very close proximity to Santa Barbara, often can get some surprising deals.
Alpha Thrift currently has two locations in Old Towne Goleta, on Hollister. There are apparently plans to open a third location, in Santa Barbara proper, on Milpas, the site of the former Salvation Army Shop (which also happens to be just down the street from Santa Barbara's iconic Suparica
Alpha Thrift 5624 Hollister Avenue, Goleta
(805) 964-1123: Right off the highway, this location is the larger of the two. There's a little more of each category in this shop, and definitely more furniture. Parking is in the back, as is the entrance. Items move quickly. Both shops have a "Post" section, featuring what the item-evaluators (for lack of a better name) deem as worthy of having a higher price. Sometimes it's non-sensical a worn Banana Republic pilled sweater is priced at $19.99, but a brand new, tags attached Kashwere Robe is also priced the same.
Alpha Thrift 5949 Hollister Ave # A, Goleta
(805) 964-1123: Just a short few blocks away (definitely walking distance), this shop features furniture (often vintage) in the front. Alpha Thrift has been known to get "close-outs" from various local businesses, so finding new items at either location is often possible. This location used to charge .99 for trade paperbacks in nearly or new condition, .50 for mass-market paperbacks and $1.99 for hardbound books, but they adopted their sister's store's policy of charging by the size, no matter what the condition. The book selection at both stores is excellent, but more care in the choosing is necessary since you're not getting quite the deal as before.
Santa Barbara
Goodwill 302 West Carrillo Street, Santa Barbara
(805) 899-3807: Aside from being next door (or literally in front of) the best Japanese/Sushi restaurant in Santa Barbara (Sushi Teri 1013 Bath Street, Santa Barbara, CA (805) 963-1250), this is a conventional Goodwill. It has a section of "new items," which are more often than not, overpriced. There seems to be a rather large turnaround and it is popular with the lower-income community. That said, clothes and accessories are often overly worn, with few deals to be had. There is a relatively large selection of books, but there always seems to be a good deal of self-help and travel, if that's what you're looking for; there's less fiction than one normally sees at Goodwill.
Unity Shoppe 1219 State, Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805-965-4122: A few years ago, this store moved from a rather obscure location in a former church a couple of blocks up to a rather high-profile store right on the famed State Street. This is a very well-appointed store featuring very clean and very lightly worn clothing and items. They also sell many new items. Recently, they had a huge collection of collectible dolls, all new. There's less than a small shelf of books, but there's jewelry and household items most gift oriented.
Random 1207 State Street, Santa Barbara
(805) 966-3257: This very unique and certifiably odd store has been around since the mid 1980s and has had several incarnations. Currently, it's this amalgam of still-on-the-roll upholstery or home fabrics, a tremendous amount of building and finishing odds and ends, old books, crafts items, linens, Balinese furniture and more. They describe themselves as selling "closeouts, remainders, surplus, odd lots and antiques." At one point, they had a wall of the now-defunct Taryn Rose shoe line, each marked at $99 (originally up to $425). Before that, they had a bunch of St. John clothing (which seemed really expensive still, but it was apparently a good deal for fans of the knit line). When the long-time leather shop (Crispin?) went out of business, many of the "left-over" shoes were sent to random. The bottom-line is that you never know what you're going to find at Random. It's not a "thrift" store per se, but has enough for thrifters to make it noteworthy. They're open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Note: they do not take credit cards, only cash and checks (the latter made out to the occasionally mysterious Glenn Corning)
