Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont celebrated the grand opening of its new Goodwill Center located at 5511 Poplar Tent Road in Concord on Saturday, June 27. The center includes the agency’s 20th retail store, a donation center and job resource center.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at 8:45 a.m., followed by music, giveaways, games, kids activities and other festivities from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Doors opened to the public at 9:00 a.m.

Goodwill’s new 12,000-square feet location will employ 20-30 people and generate approximately $500,000 in wages and sales taxes paid per year. The store will be stocked with more than 125,000 pieces of donated clothing and household items and will feature a convenient donation drive-thru.

The job resource center will offer free assistance for individuals in all aspects of the job search process; including job leads, resume workshops, interview skills, online training and individualized coaching. It is Goodwill’s sixth job resource center in the Southern Piedmont region and will serve as an access point for the North Carolina SHARE Network.

Goodwill’s modern store offers a large inventory of clothing, furniture, shoes, toys and household items. Customers are invited to celebrate the grand opening event and browse the aisles of newly displayed items for sale.

The first 250 shoppers making a purchase at the grand opening received a free ice cream cone courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s. An inflatable moon bounce and dartboard were part of the fun and games for children and Bobby Labonte’s No.96 Ask.com car was on display courtesy of Yates Racing.

In addition, Goodwill’s Smiling G mascot, Chubby from the Charlotte Checkers and the Chic-Fil-A Cow were on hand for the festivities. KISS 95.1FM broadcast on site from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. with Yankee Pete from the Ace & TJ Show.

Normal store hours for the Concord Goodwill Center will be Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. The store can be reached by calling 704-782-0829.