Oddz & Endz, Inc., after ten years leasing their current business location, purchased the building and land out of which the store has been operating. The purchase establishes the quirky community thrift store and their mission as a permanent component of Cook County, Grand Marais, and North Shore culture.

In a bold move to secure the successful Oddz & Endz mission of environmental impact, economic accessibility, and community empathy into the future for the Cook County, MN community, the all-volunteer staff and the Board of Directors purchased the property at 2066 W. Highway 61 in Grand Marais from longtime owners Bill and Jenelyn Copeland.

Janice Latz, Board of Directors chair, reflected on the multi-year relationship between Oddz & Endz and the Copelands. “We are grateful to the Copelands for the many years of support and cooperation with Oddz & Endz. We are delighted to have the opportunity to purchase the property and secure our future.”

“Oddz & Endz embraces a singular but multi-faceted mission,” according to Board Member and Operations Manager, Dale McIntire. “We exist to provide the Cook County community the opportunity to donate clean, functional, upcyclable household goods for resale to the community.”

Every donation to Oddz & Endz provides at least five measurable benefits to the community. 

• Oddz & Endz provides a safe and pleasant environment for volunteers to invest their time and effort for the good of our community. 

• Donors have a place to donate useful household items no longer needed or wanted. Families moving or cleaning out estates; hotels or resorts making renovations and remodels; anyone upgrading or replacing clean, still useable furniture and household goods now have an answer to the question, “What do we do with all this stuff that is too good to throw away?”

• Donated items avoid landfills, reducing the burden excess waste places on community resources.

• Donated items find longevity and continued use in the hands and hearts of local and tourist buyers alike.

• Sales of donated items contributes to the program vitality of other local non-profit service providers. Profits above expenses are distributed annually to volunteer designated non-profit organizations that serve the Cook County community. In 2021, Oddz & Endz donated just over $40,000 to local nonprofit organizations. In 2022, the distribution totaled more than $80,000 to more than 35 local nonprofits!

Oddz & Endz engages the interest and energy of more than 30 volunteers who invested, in 2022, more than 4000 personal hours in the mission to the community. The purchase of the property on the western edge of Grand Marais, between the National Forest Ranger Station and Poplar Grove Cemetery, is the first of several development phases envisioned by Board members and volunteers. Later phases may include expansion of donation processing and storage space as well as infrastructure maintenance and customer access options.