Fridley has a brand new Salvation Army retail store where Brand Name Deals use to be.

The store—open 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 1000 E. Moore Lake Dr., just north of the Shorewood restaurant—is unlike any other the Salvation Army operates in the Midwest: All of the merchandise for sale is new.

"It will be exciting," said Annette Bauer, community relations director at the Salvation Army's Northern Division, in an interview before the Christmas holiday season.

Not only is the merchandise new, Bauer said—some of the products for sale have never even seen the inside of a store before, she said.

You can still make donations of used items at the Salvation Army's new Fridley location, Bauer said.

All proceeds from sales at the store go to the organization's rehabilitation program at 900 N. Fourth Street in Minneapolis. Bauer said it is "free to men who are struggling—they get up every day, go to work, get to work on time."

The Fridley store's manager, Josh Hagberg is a graduate of the rehab program, Bauer said. The program "gave me back my life," he told the Star Tribune:

Until he arrived at the rehabilitation center, he was on a spiral downward "that was going to take me to death," he said. ... "It's a good place for second chances."

Goodwill opened a new store nearby in Fridley in December, but Bauer said a cluster of similar stores can be a good thing "not unlike grocery stores, if it's an area that draws a lot of shoppers."

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