Deciding that his thrift store was too far away from home, Terry Dearden brought Bargain Barn back to Andalusia.

Dearden ran three flea market booths in Hidden Treasures, a thrift store in Greenville, before hauling all of his stuff back here.

“I had this store years ago and I closed,” Dearden said. “I was running through a divorce and all of that. I went to Greenville while living here, and I took my stuff to Greenville all of the time.

“It just got to the point where I was just too far (away), and so I decided to open up here,” he said.

Dearden said he’s been in the thrift store business in the area for 30 years.

“I’ve had people wanting me to open again,” he said. “I thought, ‘what the heck,’ I was just using (the store) for a warehouse and storage.”

One can find all sorts of indoor and outdoor household items, from sofas, dressers, tables, kitchenware, chairs and more inside the store that’s located adjacent to the BP gas station on South Three Notch Street.

“I have a little bit of anything you can get inside of a house or outside,” Dearden said.

Dearden said he buys the stuff he sells from storage buildings and estate sales.

“People call me and tell me they’re moving out of town, and they didn’t want to move some of their furniture,” he said. “I’ll buy it.”

Dearden has lived in Andalusia since 1984 and is a Kentucky native.

“It was just too cold up there,” Dearden quipped.

When asked why he’s been in the thrift store business for so long, Dearden said it’s always interested him.

“I like to give people bargains,” he said. “I like to make a little money, too. This is definitely not going to make me the money I want, but there are things people buy that you can’t find anywhere else. I know the Christian (Service) center and Goodwill does a lot of that with their donated products. A lot of it’s broken and not all there.

“Anything you buy here, we test it,” he said. “I don’t sell anything that doesn’t work right.”

Bargain Barn will open for business tomorrow. Hours of operation are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.; and on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

For more information on the store, call Dearden at 334-208-7200.