Pop-up boutiques let N.J. seniors shop at home
Suzanne Levy-Polikoff's shopping destinations have names like Riverview Towers, Dubin House, and Burlington Manor. The gregarious Cherry Hill resident arrives at these and other senior living facilities in South Jersey and Philadelphia with a "pop-up" shop that's stocked with donated clothing, accessories, household goods, and other items.
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Suzanne Levy-Polikoff's shopping destinations have names like Riverview Towers, Dubin House, and Burlington Manor.
The gregarious Cherry Hill resident arrives at these and other senior living facilities in South Jersey and Philadelphia with a "pop-up" shop that's stocked with donated clothing, accessories, household goods, and other items.
At her "Mobile ReSale Boutique," the quality is high, the prices are low, and Levy-Polikoff is in every sense the driver. Also the "schlepper extraordinaire," in her words.
"Hello! How are you?" she asks as customers on foot or in wheelchairs enter the community room at Burlington Manor.
The 125-unit senior building in Burlington City is among the half-dozen stops she and a small crew of volunteers made during a recent week.
They unload, set up racks and tables, arrange merchandise, wait on customers for an hour and a half, and then pack it all up.
"Everyone always wants to know when we're coming back," says Levy-Polikoff.
"People like to buy. It's a little bit of therapy," she explains. "I like to go through the racks at TJ Maxx. It's my own form of meditation."
The 52-year-old mother of three says she got her original inspiration for the nonprofit boutique-to-go in 2012 after she "started bringing things to Camden."
She had joined a friend, Sustainable Cherry Hill founder Lori Braunstein, in a neighborhood beautification effort in South Camden, and got to know a local resident named Ana Agueda.
"We had block parties for the kids, and Sue and Lori would bring donations," recalls Agueda, 65, who has since moved to Riverview Towers.
She calls the boutique "awesome to the people here."
Levy-Polikoff brings a background in business and philanthropy - as well as a love of shopping - to the boutique, which she directs as a pilot program for the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey.
"It provides low-cost clothing and other items . . . and allows members of the community to feel good about donating and doing something that gives back," says Deena Sherman, director of operations for the federation, which is the recipient of the proceeds.
The program, Sherman adds, "keeps on giving."
The boutique also "is a pretty good idea, because we don't have to go out to get what we want," says Burlington Manor resident Donald Nixon, who picked up a fine-looking leather coat for $7.
"I got a few things I might use, and a knickknack I might give to somebody," Dolores Whelan, 85, says.
Taking a look at a table of housewares, Alice Albritton, 87 - a 22-year resident of the Manor - says she's not shopping for anything in particular. But being able to do so without leaving home "is nice," she says.
"The boutique gives residents who don't have transportation or active family involved in their lives to buy something to give as a Christmas or birthday gift," notes Kim Stewart, supportive service coordinator at the Manor.
She invited Levy-Polikoff to bring the boutique to Burlington after seeing how much residents of Riverview, which is run by the same company, Arbor Management, have enjoyed this home shopping experience.
"You see how much it touches people," says volunteer Debby Brown, 69, of Moorestown, who spent 25 years in the thrift store business in Camden and Collingswood.
"It's not just about the merchandise," she notes.
Indeed: The Mobile ReSale Boutique is also about its founder, who takes the notion of customer service to a whole new level.
Levy-Polikoff has been known to serve as a clothing model - including, once, for a prom dress. She'll cut prices on the spot so a potential buyer doesn't leave empty-handed.
And during one warm-weather pop-up outside the Center for Family Services in Camden, a man pulled up, lowered the window, and got right down to shopping.
"He had his whole family with him, and he said, 'Let me see that dress over there,' " Levy-Polikoff says, laughing. "He never got out of the car, and he left with a bag of clothes. I was like his drive-through personal shopper."
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