West Riverview Avenue in Dayton, Ohio is the home base of the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton ReStore, a discount retail outlet that sells new and gently used furniture, appliances, home goods, and building materials to the public while funding the affiliate’s home construction work across the Miami Valley. The Dayton location is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it operates alongside a sister store in Springfield at Northland Plaza on Derr Road, which keeps slightly longer weekday hours, giving area shoppers two separate outlets to check for inventory depending on which side of the region they are on.
Unlike a conventional thrift store, the ReStore model blends donated secondhand goods with occasional new overstock and surplus items, so shoppers on the Riverview Avenue sales floor might find anything from a used sectional sofa or dining set to cabinetry, doors, tools, light fixtures, and appliances still in working order. Most of that inventory arrives through donations from local homeowners, contractors finishing remodels, and businesses clearing out excess stock, and every item is priced well under typical retail to keep the store accessible to budget conscious shoppers throughout Dayton and Montgomery County.
The connection between shopping and mission is direct and deliberate: proceeds from every sale support Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton’s work building and repairing homes for local families working toward stable, affordable homeownership. A Dayton area homeowner finishing a kitchen renovation can drop off old cabinets or a dishwasher rather than paying to haul it away, receive a tax deductible donation receipt, and know the item will be resold to help fund a home a few neighborhoods over. That cycle, donated goods becoming construction dollars, is what separates the ReStore from a typical secondhand shop and gives regular donors and shoppers alike a reason to think of the store as part of the affiliate’s broader housing mission rather than a simple bargain outlet.
Running two locations, one in Dayton proper and one in Springfield, also lets the affiliate serve a wider geographic footprint across the Miami Valley than a single store could manage, and it means inventory and foot traffic get spread across both communities rather than concentrated in one spot. Because nearly everything on the shelves depends on what gets donated that week, the mix of furniture, appliances, and building materials shifts constantly, and regular customers often make a habit of stopping by every so often to see what has come in since their last visit.
Beyond retail sales, the Riverview Avenue store also serves as a community touchpoint where Dayton area residents can learn about Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton’s home construction, critical repair, and homeownership programs, along with opportunities to volunteer sorting and pricing donations on the retail floor. For anyone in the Dayton area furnishing a home on a budget, tackling a renovation, or simply looking for a good secondhand find while supporting local affordable housing, the ReStore at 115 West Riverview Avenue offers a constantly changing selection of furniture, appliances, and building materials, with every dollar spent going toward building a neighbor’s home in the Miami Valley.
