POST FALLS — The Hospice of North Idaho thrift store will close the Seltice Way location for good this fall.

Nov. 8 is the final day.

Eric Ladwig, executive director of Hospice of North Idaho, said the Post Falls Hospice Thrift Store has 35 volunteers and three paid employees to run store services and supports end-of-life services for the community.

“This is just the right decision for the business as it is right now just because of the commercial economy out there and the lack of available building spaces that are the size that we need and the cost,” Ladwig said. 

The store has been in business for 37 years and along with Medicare, helps fund services for about 1,000 people to use hospice each year.       

With the deadline for the store closure looming, Hospice of North Idaho doesn’t have an option to extend the lease, which is set to expire in November. Other spaces examined by staff have proved too costly to rent.

“In 2024, our store was able to bring in almost $200,000 for our charitable care and our mission,” Ladwig said. “Other buildings we’ve looked at could be anywhere from two and a half times to four times the amount for a lease, that erodes so much of that revenue we can generate.” 

Ladwig is still searching for an option that would fit the thrift store’s needs and maintain worthwhile business margins to support palliative care services. 

“We are holding onto some hope that we can find the right place and find a building we can get into. I’ll be turning cartwheels if we can find another building,” Ladwig said. 

The thrift store is hosting a liquidation closing sale Sept. 29 to Nov. 8 and will accept clothing donations until Oct. 13. 

“We want to try to be able to sell every bit of the inventory that we can,” Ladwig said. 

The ideal size of a space is 5,000–10,000 square feet with spaces for sales and sorting. 

For almost 40 years, the thrift store has used clothing donations to lighten the financial burden for end-of-life care for members of the community.  

“A store like this is only able to generate a certain amount of revenue to support our charitable care, it’s not just a store that makes money,” Ladwig said. “Our true mission is the hospice work that we do.”

Community members who know of a location Hospice of North Idaho could use for a thrift store can contact [email protected] or call 208-772-7994.