Lakewood is home to the headquarters city of Arc Thrift Stores, and the chain operates a full retail location at 7677 West Jewell Avenue, close to Kendrick Lake and the Bear Creek Village area of west Lakewood. The Colorado based chain has been in business since 1968, giving this Jewell Avenue store deep roots in a community that has watched the organization grow from a single fundraising effort into one of the larger secondhand retail networks along the Front Range, all while keeping its original purpose intact: every dollar spent here supports The Arc’s advocacy chapters serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Colorado and New Mexico.
Inside, the Jewell Avenue store stocks the same broad mix found across the chain, organized to function like a discount department store rather than a single category resale shop. Clothing racks cover men, women and children, with shoes, handbags, belts and jewelry nearby, while a separate section handles furniture, lamps, area rugs, kitchenware, small appliances, books, media and seasonal decorations. Because Lakewood sits at the chain’s operational home base, the Jewell Avenue location is often one of the busier stores for donation drop off, meaning the sales floor here tends to turn over quickly with a steady stream of new arrivals from local households.
What separates Arc Thrift Stores from an ordinary thrift shop is its employment mission. The organization deliberately hires people with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and other intellectual and developmental disabilities to staff its stores, giving them meaningful retail work at the register, on the sales floor and in the donation intake area. Being close to the organization’s Lakewood headquarters, the Jewell Avenue store has a particularly direct connection to that mission, since many of the administrative and program staff overseeing the broader Arc network are based in the same city where this store operates day to day.
Store hours run Monday through Friday from 9 in the morning until 9 at night, Saturday from 8 in the morning until 9 at night, and Sunday from 10 in the morning until 6 in the evening, giving Lakewood shoppers a wide window to browse before or after work or on a weekend afternoon. Donation hours close slightly earlier, Monday through Saturday from 9 in the morning until 8 at night and Sunday from 10 in the morning until 5 in the evening, and the store can typically accept clothing, furniture of most sizes, working electronics, housewares, books and seasonal items during those hours, with staff on hand to help unload larger pieces.
For neighbors near Kendrick Lake or Bear Creek Village, the Jewell Avenue store offers an easy way to both shop on a budget and clear out unused household goods without sending them to a landfill. Bargain hunters furnishing an apartment, parents replacing outgrown kids clothing and collectors hunting for older furniture or housewares all have reason to make this a regular stop rather than a one time visit, since inventory here shifts with every new round of donations. Anyone with questions about furniture pickup, current donation guidelines or hours around a holiday can reach the store directly at 720-531-6881. In short, the Arc Thrift Stores location on West Jewell Avenue is a secondhand department store in the chain’s own headquarters city, where every purchase and donation funds advocacy and inclusive employment for Coloradans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
