Thrift Store Owner Loves Meeting Customers

Meeting people in the community is the best part of having a business, according to Tileana Waterman, owner of Super Deals Thrift Store in Noel.

Waterman and her husband, Roy, opened the thrift store on Main Street four or five years ago after a lot of thought.

"We thought about doing our own business for quite a while," Waterman said. "We started buying returned items from Internet sites. We happened to notice an empty building on Main Street and it happened to belong to our neighbor. We rented it, took a few months to build up our inventory and we opened."

The Watermans get a lot of their inventory from estate sales.

"We specialize in items people need like furniture, appliances, pots, pans, dishes -- just about everything," Waterman said. "Once in awhile we'll do antiques, but we're not really an antique place. I've never known enough about antiques to get into that."

Asked what her favorite part of operating the business is, she responded, "You get to meet a lot of people in the community. We kind of like going to these auctions and bidding on things and getting good deals, and then you can pass that on. We try to price things pretty reasonable."

The couple has considered doing other things with their business, such as expanding or opening a flea market where people can rent out booths. They always have ideas, Waterman said.

"It's just a place in a small community where people can come get things they need at a price they can afford. Noel is one of those towns where people are always moving in and out, and people need things as they're moving in and getting settled," she said.

The new people in town are not their only clientele, however, she said. They have customers "who've lived there forever" as well.

Asked about the most unusual thing they have ever sold, Waterman said, "We don't usually buy the unusual things. We have sold everything from bathtubs to regular everyday dishes, furniture, knickknacks."

She reiterated her enjoyment of meeting people in the community.

"We get some campers in the summer, so you get people from all over. We had a couple come in who said they traveled riding the rails. You meet all kinds of people from all over the world. You wouldn't think that in such a small town, but you do."