More than a thrift shop: Woman finds her life’s passion in unwanted treasures

Barbara Colandrino had no idea when she began running “the barn,” a popular thrift shop at Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch, that she’d finally found her life’s passion. Today, 12 years later, the Mattituck woman has opened a thrift store of her own — and she could not be more certain that this is what she was made to do.

Colandrino was going through a tough divorce when she met Fern Hill, cofounder of the ranch. The two were soon fast friends, and Hill offered to let Colandrino stay in the ranch’s hospitality house.

“The ranch was really so good to me, and I wanted to help out in return. One day Fern told me they were going to have a yard sale and she asked me to go out and start getting stuff from the barn ready,” Colandrino explained. “And that was it.”

As soon as the doors to the barn were open, people immediately took an interest in what was inside.

“People started coming in,” Colandrino said. “That first day I went back and said to Fern, ‘look, I made $200 just from opening the doors!’ She said ‘Good. Go back there tomorrow and do it again.’”

The barn would go on to operate as a make-shift thrift store for about a decade. In 2013, it was transformed into a boutique, and last year moved to a new location on Northville Turnpike .

“When I had the idea for my own shop, Fern was incredibly helpful,” Colandrino said. “We looked all around the island and found this place on Craigslist. It was perfect, but it seemed way too expensive for me.”

The two drove by the storefront, located on Hamilton Avenue in Polish Town, for several days before Colandrino decided that she wanted to go in, despite the price listed online.

“It was such a lovely space that I thought I would never be able to afford. I guess I had a puppy-dog face,” she laughs. “The owner wanted the store occupied, so here we are. And it’s beautiful.”

Beautiful is not a bad way to describe the Village Treasure Shoppe. The store is large open room with large windows that help fill the space with natural light. Furniture is on display throughout the room, with trinkets and knick-knacks scattered about and a section in the corner just for clothes.

“That’s what a lot of people are interested in today,” Colandrino said. “It’s a hard economy, and people just want nice clothes that they can afford.”

Colandrino met Gloria Hallas-Bolling, her business partner, while working at the barn. She now rents a home from Hallas-Bolling in Mattituck.

“I’m glad I was able to find a place for the store close to home. We were looking everywhere,” Colandrino said. “I love Riverhead. The community, the people… I love it here.”

The neighborhood has been nothing but welcoming, Colandrino said. From opening day last Saturday until today, there has been an outpouring of support for the shoppe from the community.

“My neighbor across the street comes in all the time and offers to help move things, put things together. Everyone waves when they walk by, they stop in and say hello,” she said. “It’s a very friendly area.”

The shoppe gets its inventory from around town — yard sales, auctions and even people stopping in to donate items.

“We aren’t a charity, but people insist. Some of them know me from the barn and they just want to help out,” Colandrino said.

The people she meets are the best part of the job for her, Colandrino said, which is why she spends most of her time in the store while Hallas-Bolling is tasked with finding inventory.

“It’s been a good first week. People have been coming in and buying a few things, but that’s not even the best part,” Colandrino said. “I get to hear about their lives. I get to know the people and I love that. And the best part is when they come back.”

Colandrino is warm and welcoming as soon as you step foot in her store, so it’s no shock that people end up telling her their life stories, nor is it surprising she easily makes friends with most who enter.

But her best friend and biggest supporter to this day is still Hill, Colandrino said.

“Fern still comes every day with coffee, doughnuts — sometimes even dinner. I tell her she’s already done enough for me, but she brushes it off. She says it’s not her — it’s God. She tells me, ‘pray, and thank God that he has given you this gift.’” Colandrino smiles. “And I do. I’m very thankful. I couldn’t be happier.”