Goodwill will open its first priced-per-pound "bins" outlet in Henrico County, Virginia, early next year, a $1.8 million bet on bargain-hungry shoppers and a 34,000-square-foot former Big Lots that sat empty after the retail chain pulled out.
The nonprofit secondhand retailer signed a 10-year lease on the space at 8028 West Broad Street in the Fountain Square shopping center, near the intersection of West Broad and Parham Road. Goodwill spokeswoman Laura Faison told The U.S. Sun that the organization already runs a smaller store in an outparcel building at the same shopping center, one that has operated for roughly two decades.
That existing location has become too small. Faison called it one of Goodwill's most popular stores and said the move into the larger Big Lots space lets the organization stay close enough to keep its loyal customer base while finally having room to grow.
The new store will combine a traditional Goodwill retail section with a priced-per-pound outlet, the "bins" format that has built a devoted following among thrift shoppers nationwide. Bins stores sell unsorted merchandise by weight rather than by item, drawing crowds willing to dig through rolling bins for deals on clothing, housewares, and whatever else turns up.
Henrico County has never had a Goodwill bins store. The combo outlet-and-retail layout will be the first of its kind in central Virginia, though Goodwill already operates standalone outlet locations in South Richmond, Hampton, and Virginia Beach.
Faison framed the relocation as a practical win:
"It's a great facility, but we've outgrown it. That is one of our most popular stores."
She added a second point about geography and customer loyalty:
"It's great when you can move a location, but not really move so you get to keep your shopper base."
Goodwill plans to spend $1.8 million to build out the 34,000-square-foot interior. The organization did not disclose how the floor plan would divide between the retail side and the bins outlet, or what price per pound shoppers can expect. Those details remain open as the early-2027 target date approaches.
Big Lots, the discount chain that previously anchored the space, vacated the Fountain Square location as part of its broader national contraction. Goodwill's willingness to sign a decade-long lease and invest nearly $2 million in construction suggests confidence in the site's foot traffic, and in the staying power of secondhand retail at a time when many traditional retailers are shrinking their footprints.
Henrico County sits in the Greater Richmond region and ranks among Virginia's most populated counties, giving Goodwill a deep pool of potential shoppers. The existing outparcel store's two-decade run at the same shopping center is its own market test.
Online reaction to the announcement was enthusiastic. One commenter on Instagram wrote, "Me and my mom about to put them out of business." Another declared, "LORD WE LOVE THE 'BINS.'" A third shopper responded on Facebook with a simple "Sayyyy whaaaa?!!!"
The excitement is easy to understand. Bins stores turn thrift shopping into something closer to a treasure hunt, and the pay-per-pound model rewards patience and volume. For budget-conscious families, the people who actually feel inflation at the grocery store and the gas pump, a new outlet selling clothes and household goods by the pound is not a novelty. It is practical relief.
Several questions remain unanswered ahead of the early-2027 opening. Goodwill has not said how many jobs the new combo store will create, whether the existing outparcel location will close before or after the larger store opens, or what the per-pound pricing structure will look like.
But the broad outline tells a straightforward story. A nonprofit that sells donated goods to fund job training and workforce programs is expanding into a space that a struggling big-box chain could not hold. Goodwill is putting $1.8 million and a 10-year commitment behind a bet that everyday shoppers still want value, and that secondhand retail can thrive where conventional discount chains cannot.
When a thrift store moves into the building a national chain abandoned, the market is sending a message about where real demand lives, and it is not at full retail price.
