SLOCA has always been quite thrifty—after all, we did convert a garage into a classroom for 11 students when we began. And while we’ve always wanted beauty to be a central part of what makes us who we are, we also know the secret that the most beautiful things are not always brand new.
7 years into being an established school, we opened our beloved thrift store Fred & Betty’s in downtown SLO as a way to provide an additional source of revenue. Named after the owners of the building (and the source of our thrift business wisdom), Fred and Betty Campbell, this 5,000 square foot space quickly became a staple in the thrifting community. Fred & Betty’s was even voted the Best Local Thrift Store in the New Times Best of SLO Reader’s Poll for three years!
Fred & Betty’s successfully donated annually to SLOCA for over 13 years, but as the school continued to grow, it became clear that resources needed to be directed towards other efforts that were performing better than Fred & Betty’s. For that reason, SLOCA ultimately decided to seek another organization or company to run the business and donate out of their proceeds to support SLOCA.
We were glad to seal the deal with The Haven (103 E Branch St, Arroyo Grande), a curated secondhand and vintage store operated by Monarch Trading Company LLC. A popular vintage store themselves located in The Village, their business expertise and willingness to partner with us in our mission made them solid candidates for taking on this store. “It has been a pleasure to serve our thrifting community since 2013, and we are grateful to those who assisted us along the way,” says Susie Theule, Founder + Head of School at SLOCA. “We look forward to seeing the community embrace The Haven and continue to support the life-changing work we are doing at SLO Classical Academy.”
The Haven will continue an ongoing partnership with SLOCA—we will keep encouraging our community to direct donations to the store, and The Haven will keep providing financial support to the school. “Our goal is to honor what this store has meant to San Luis Obispo for over a decade while giving it new life for the next generation of shoppers,” says Veronica Tagre, co-owner of The Haven.
In the coming weeks, the store will be operating under the same name but will gradually change the store into what they do best—curated secondhand and vintage! During this transition, the store will remain open, and we’re excited to share that the current Manager Krysten Clark will remain in place along with her team. As The Haven works to refresh the store and bring in new inventory in the coming weeks, significant markdowns are underway on current merchandise for a limited time, so you’ll want to stop by to pick up some sweet finds!
Follow @fredandbettys and @thehaven_slo on Instagram to stay tuned on all the updates.
