By Stephanie Youngdale
Patricia Chartrand, the owner of the store, enjoys making great quality clothes and other small household items available to the community at affordable prices.
Walking by a new business in Lowertown is always exciting, and Shop Smart’s open door calls to curious passersby. While Shop Smart has been in operation since August 2022, it only recently relocated to 242 Dalhousie.
Upon entering, customers are met by a clean and comfortable collection of second-hand clothing, books, small electronics and housewares. It’s hard to decide where to look first for unique treasures. There are tidy rows of racks of clothing, bordered by shoes and accessories on the wall to the left. On the other side of the shop, customers can peruse a modest library of books, DVDs, CDs and even vinyl records. Customers can also try on clothing in tidy changing rooms.
Patricia Chartrand, the owner of the store, enjoys making great quality clothes and other small household items available to the community at affordable prices. Shop Smart is selective about what items to sell; all items are inspected and washed before being put on the rack.
I asked Gilles, who is often behind the counter at the store, what the coolest item to ever be donated to the store was. Perhaps it wasn’t fair of me to put him on the spot like that, but his response after a few moments of consideration: “Ghostbusters memorabilia!”
Shop Smart’s stock is constantly changing so you never know what you’ll find. Customers can bring in items to donate, and in turn are given a discount on items they’d like to buy. Chartrand loves the focus on making quality items accessible to the community at affordable prices, seven days a week. She recognizes that the neighbourhood is diverse, and hopes to serve the many cultures represented in Lowertown.
Stop in and say “hey” on your next stroll down Dalhousie!