For 69 years, the Commodore Plaza thrift shop has sold donated goods at bargain prices and turned the proceeds into help for the community. Owning its modest storefront has helped keep that mission alive as the Grove has changed around it.
On increasingly upscale Commodore Plaza, where restaurants, boutiques and new development have transformed one of Coconut Grove’s best-known shopping streets, there is still a place where you can buy a shirt for $3.
Or a pair of pants for $6. Or, depending on what came through the door that week, antique jewelry, vintage furniture or even an Elvis Presley lamp.
This ’N That has been selling donated goods at bargain prices in the Grove for 69 years — an increasingly unlikely survivor of a neighborhood that has changed dramatically around it.
Founded in 1957 by the Women’s Fellowship of South Grove’s Plymouth Congregational Church, the thrift shop has endured in part because its founders made a decision decades ago that proved crucial to its survival: They bought the Commodore Plaza storefront.
The shop occupies a one-story, 1,500-square-foot building constructed in 1954. The mortgage was paid off in 1977, and a photograph of the women celebrating by burning it still hangs inside.
Today, Plymouth Congregational Church owns the property, allowing This ’N That to operate without paying the rising rents that have transformed much of the surrounding commercial district. The property is also exempt from property taxes.
“They wouldn’t be able to be here if they didn’t own it,” said Paula Yermoli, who has worked at This ’N That for six years.
That financial advantage has allowed the shop to continue its original mission: selling affordable donated goods while directing proceeds back into the community.
According to Yermoli, the shop has given about $230,000 to local organizations so far this year.
“The mission is to really have a service for people, like affordable clothing and a place for people to donate their goods,” Yermoli said.
The shop partners with a long list of local charities, ranging from the Agape Women’s Center to Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Merchandise that can’t be sold is donated to Miami Rescue Mission, also known as The Caring Place.
In addition to working with charities, Yermoli said the shop helps homeless people who come into the store looking for clothing.
“We do have our regular people that come in for an outfit, and we give them what they need,” Yermoli said. “It’s just part of the mission of the shop, which is to help the community and help people that need it.”
The store’s history is also a story about the women who established it.
“Those were the ladies, very smart women,” Yermoli said.
Hallie Yanno, who has volunteered at This ’N That for 25 years and has attended Plymouth since the late 1970s, also marvels at what the founders accomplished.
“It was a miracle, especially for women back then,” Yanno said.
Inside the store, Yermoli spends much of her day sorting through donated goods, tagging them and deciding what they should sell for.
The shop receives donations from across the Miami area but also continues to receive goods through the church, which holds a collection for the store on the third Sunday of every month.
Yermoli describes shopping at This ’N That as a “treasure hunt.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, This ’N That faced uncertainty about its future. But amid a flood of donations from pandemic-era house cleanings and growing interest in thrifting among younger shoppers, the store saw a boom.
Students from schools in the Grove stop by after school to see what new items have arrived that week. University of Miami students also come through looking for books and a connection to the community beyond campus.
“Now with social media, I noticed that it’s very trendy,” Yermoli said. “We see a lot more young people.”
It’s not just the trend attracting younger shoppers. It’s also the prices.
Pants typically sell for $6 to $8 and shirts for $3 to $8. And that doesn’t include discount racks, where prices can be reduced by an additional 75%.
“The other day a lady bought a whole pile of clothes and it was all $35,” Yermoli said.
The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and relies largely on volunteers to operate.
Volunteer Melanie Elder describes working at This ’N That as a social and fun experience.
“I learn new things every time I come to work,” Elder said. “It’s just a really nice atmosphere and it’s really cozy in here.”
Elder also points to the environmental benefits of shopping at a store like This ’N That, where used clothing and other goods get another life rather than being discarded.
“None of this stuff ends up on these foreign country beaches, washed up,” Elder said. “It’s giving people a chance to buy things that are affordable or buy things that are no longer available.”
Although clothing is its biggest seller, the shop also welcomes more unusual donations.
One of the rarer items to pass through the store, according to Yanno, was a 6-foot-tall metal knight.
“You just never know what you’re gonna get,” Yanno said. “And we are always thrilled.”
Looking ahead, This ’N That hopes to reach another generation of shoppers through social media. Its Instagram account, @thisnthatshop_, has more than 1,700 followers and features videos and posts highlighting merchandise in the store.
“Young people are so aware of thrifting and sustainability,” Yanno said. “Which I think is what’s gonna keep it going on forever.”
