Tucked behind the Fred Astaire Dance studio at 118 Mill Street in Fayetteville, New York, Encore Thrift Shop is easy to miss from the street and easy to fall in love with once inside. The shop is reached through the building’s rear entrance, a detail regulars pass along to newcomers, and it opens Tuesday through Friday from 11 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, with Saturday hours from 11 until 3. Encore focuses on secondhand women’s clothing, shoes, jewelry, and small household items, all donated by the community and priced to move quickly, and the shop supplements its physical racks with an eBay store that extends its reach to shoppers well beyond the Syracuse suburbs.
What sets Encore apart from a typical resale storefront is its purpose. The shop exists as the primary year round fundraiser for the Syracuse Sounds of Music Association, and every dollar generated from donated merchandise is directed toward that organization’s mission. It is a model familiar to many nonprofit auxiliary thrift shops around the country: rather than running bake sales or one off events, the group operates a standing retail storefront that turns a steady stream of community donations into sustained financial support. That arrangement also means Encore is entirely volunteer run and volunteer staffed, with no paid employees drawing from the proceeds, so shoppers can be confident that the bulk of what they spend flows directly back into the association’s programs rather than overhead.
Fayetteville itself is a village in the town of Manlius, part of the eastern Syracuse suburbs known for its walkable center, Green Lakes State Park nearby, and a strong base of community minded small businesses and civic groups. Encore fits neatly into that landscape, drawing donors and shoppers from Fayetteville, Manlius, DeWitt, and the broader eastern Onondaga County area. Because the shop specializes in women’s clothing and accessories rather than trying to be a general household thrift store, its racks tend to turn over with a more curated feel than a large multi category resale operation, and regulars know to check back often since inventory depends entirely on what the community drops off that week.
Donors are a core part of how Encore operates. The shop accepts quality women’s clothing, shoes, jewelry, and small household goods during its posted business hours, and it provides donation forms so contributors can claim their gifts for tax purposes, a small but meaningful convenience for anyone doing an annual closet clean out. The shop also keeps an active presence on Instagram and Facebook, where volunteers post new arrivals, sales, and seasonal promotions, giving repeat shoppers a way to time their visits around fresh stock without having to stop by in person first.
For anyone in the Fayetteville or greater Syracuse area looking to shop secondhand women’s fashion while supporting a local nonprofit, Encore Thrift Shop offers a simple proposition: gently used clothing and accessories at thrift prices, with proceeds funding the Syracuse Sounds of Music Association’s year round mission. It stands as a clear example of how a small, volunteer powered thrift shop can double as sustained community fundraising, one donated blouse, handbag, or piece of jewelry at a time.
