You save money. We save lives. That short line, printed across The Other Side Thrift Boutique’s storefront and social pages, sums up why this Millcreek shop operates differently from most secondhand stores. The boutique at 3320 South 1300 East is one of two Salt Lake valley locations run in partnership with The Other Side Academy, a residential program that helps people rebuild their lives after addiction, incarceration, or homelessness. Every purchase and every donation dropped at the dock supports that mission, which gives regular thrift runs here a bit of added purpose without changing what the shopping experience feels like on the floor.
Inside, the Millcreek store is stocked with secondhand clothing and accessories for men, women, and kids, along with home decor, housewares, and furniture that rotate through as donations are sorted and priced. Because inventory comes almost entirely from community donations, the mix leans eclectic: everyday basics next to the occasional designer label, mid-century furniture pieces beside modern housewares, and shelves of decor and knickknacks that reward a slow walk through the aisles. Shoppers who like digging for a specific find, as well as those simply refreshing a wardrobe or furnishing a first apartment on a budget, tend to find something worth taking home.
The Millcreek location is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Sundays, with the donation dock keeping the same hours for anyone dropping off gently used items. A sister store operates across the valley in Murray at 4290 State Street, giving shoppers two chances each week to catch fresh merchandise before it turns over. Both stores are staffed largely by Academy students working toward employment and life skills as part of their two-year residential program, so a visit here supports workforce training as directly as it supports the nonprofit’s broader housing and recovery services.
The recognition has followed the mission. The Other Side Thrift Boutique has been voted Best of SLC for five consecutive years, from 2020 through 2024, a run that reflects both consistent bargain hunting for customers and steady community goodwill toward what the store represents. Reviewers frequently point to the combination of genuinely good finds and the feel-good factor of knowing where the money goes, a pairing that is harder to find at conventional thrift chains focused purely on turnover.
For anyone new to the Salt Lake area’s thrift scene, Millcreek sits just south of Salt Lake City proper, making the shop an easy add-on to a shopping trip along 1300 East. Regulars recommend checking in often, since new donations move through the racks quickly and the best pieces rarely sit for long. Whether the goal is an affordable wardrobe refresh, a few pieces of furniture for a new space, or simply the satisfaction of a purchase that funds addiction recovery and reentry services, The Other Side Thrift Boutique in Millcreek delivers secondhand shopping with a clearly stated cause behind every price tag: you save money, and the proceeds help save lives through The Other Side Academy’s recovery and workforce programs.
