A recent Saturday at the ReStore on Route 414 in Corning was, in Manager Jonathan Wylie’s words, “crazy.”

“We sold at least a hundred pieces of furniture.” And what a good thing that is, since the store is “a 365-day fundraiser to help support the mission of Habitat.”

That’s the Steuben County chapter of Habitat for Humanity (habitatcorning.org), an organization seeking, as it says, to put God’s love into action by building homes, communities, and hope globally. The impetus for Habit for Humanity was nurtured in Georgia in the early 1970s by Millard and Linda Fuller and Clarence Jordan, and has since spread to all fifty states and seventy countries. It’s been building home, community, and hope in Steuben County since 1993. Habitat builds new homes, refurbishes old ones, and, in the process, gives people the security and dignity that comes with owning their own home. The ReStore, established in 2008, is the main source of revenue for Steuben County’s Habitat for Humanity, and can be reached at (607) 377-5524.

So it was devastating when a fire in July of 2023 destroyed the facility’s donation section and left other parts of the complex with smoke damage. ReStore was closed for a year for repairs and reconstruction, but is back now, better than before.

“We decided to rebuild here, since people know we’re here,” says Jonathan.

At 10,000 square feet, the refurbished retail space is about 400 square feet less than before the fire. The area known as the annex/home improvement section has enhanced storage and display areas—it’s really easy to walk around and see the stoves, sinks, toilets, lawn furniture, plumbing fixtures, building supplies, and other odds and ends that might come in handy for a weekend home repair project or a full-blown bathroom or kitchen remodel. In the home décor/furnishings section, dishes and other housewares are neatly shelved, making browsing oh-so-easy. There’s a whole section devoted to Pyrex, Corelle, and Corningware. The furniture selection is wide-ranging—couches, chairs, end tables, dining tables, bed frames, dressers, and buffets. Now could be the time to change up that tired recliner in the corner of the living room or the table in the breakfast nook. There’s also lighting, books, albums, DVDs, VHS tapes (hey, some of us still have the player), electronics, old stuff (manual typewriter, anyone?), new stuff, and unique stuff. Like the Green Collection. Jonathan explains that the Colorado-based GreenSheen paint (greensheenpaint.com) ReStore sells is old latex paint “turned into brand new paint.” It’s an appropriate partnership.

Since the reopening in August of 2024, ReStore has also opened the Steuben County Habitat for Humanity Tool Library. For a thirty-dollar annual membership fee, residents of Steuben, Chemung, and Schuyler counties can check out up to three tools for a week at a time.

It’s a money-saver, says Jonathan—you don’t have to buy an expensive tool you may only use once. And it’s helpful for those who don’t have storage space for that big air compressor or extension ladder. Donations of tools in safe, working order are accepted, so the Tool Library is a good opportunity to re-home that saw or drill nobody uses anymore.

ReStore is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donations are accepted on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. If shoppers or borrowers can’t find what they’re looking for, that’s a good reason to come back soon, since the inventory changes all the time.

“We had ninety car-fulls [of donations] this past weekend,” Jonathan says.