Bud’s Warehouse
“We shape our homes; thereafter, our homes shape us.”
Bud’s Warehouse is a sacred place. Bud’s Warehouse is a home improvement thrift store created to provide job training for those rebuilding their lives. Bud’s operates at the creative intersection of the reuse, recycle, and resale of home improvement supplies. It is place where home improvement is improving people’s lives.
Bud’s story began in 1995 when Mile High Ministries connected a group of urban pastors and businessmen to address the employment side of poverty. Belay Enterprises was born, and Bud’s Warehouse was their first project. Jim Reiner joined in 1999 and has been leading Bud’s Warehouse for 25 years. In 2016 Bud’s purchased a former Service Merchandise at I-225 & Mississippi in Aurora. “It was the probably best decision we’ve made,” said Reiner. Owning the location has provided Bud’s a place to build both the home improvement store and the job training program.
Bud’s sells home improvement supplies at 50-75% savings, enabling residents to make home repairs affordably. Donated building materials are diverted from landfills and instead made available for resale. New and previously used home improvement supplies are donated daily by contractors, builders, suppliers, and homeowners. Cabinets, doors, windows, and flooring are the core supplies that are donated and sold at Bud’s. “The do-it-yourself home improvement hobbyist is Bud’s core customer,” says Reiner. “It is someone who appreciates a good value and a good story.”
Bud’s Warehouse hires and trains individuals who have significant barriers to employment. Many of the employees in the job training program have experienced incarceration or homelessness. Every morning before the store opens, Bud’s employees and volunteers participate in on-site job training. The one-year job training program is designed to combine workplace experience with tools for employees to prepare them for full-time, self-sufficient employment. Each employee has a weekly one-on-one meeting to address personal and professional growth and goal setting. They hope to graduate employees from the program into jobs paying $25-$30 per hour.
Bud’s Warehouse has doubled in sales in the last two years with the addition of an e-commerce site. The COVID pandemic was the inciting incident that created the need to build an online platform. Now 40% of their revenue is through the online store, expanding their customer base. Contractors from as far as Nebraska and Kansas purchase online and drive to the store because of the cost savings. The online store has also expanded job training to include inventory management, database management, and e-commerce.
Bud’s Warehouse is a place for people renovating their homes to support those rebuilding their lives. It is a place for those rebuilding their lives to assist those renovating their homes. It is a place of renovation and restoration. Bud’s Warehouse is a sacred place.
