Collecting has been a lifetime hobby for Doug Christine, who owns and operates DK Thrift Store in Rifle with his wife, Kathy. Christine began collecting as a teenager, and nearly a half century later he had a treasure trove of items filling his store, including an antique Howdy Doody doll.
“I started doing this when I was 16 years old. My mother always used to say I could sell anything,” Christine said. “I’ve been doing flea markets most of my life. I kind of got lucky and decided to open my own thrift stores.”
A little over four years ago the New Castle resident opened two thrift stores, one on Main Street in New Castle and another on Railroad Avenue in Rifle.
A frequent visitor to the Mile High Flea Market located in the Denver area, Christine filled the stores with his personal collection amassed over four decades.
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“I started off small and worked hard for it. If it wasn’t for my wife, I don’t think it could have happened,” Christine said. “She’s my backbone, and I’m very pleased we are here today at this place.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home order, Doug and Kathy Christine decided to make a few changes.
With his lease up and the pending construction projects coming to Railroad Avenue and the opening up of the former location of Miller Dry Goods Doug Christine decided to move to a new location.
With the size of the new location at 118 E. Third St., the Christines decided to close the New Castle location and consolidate their collection to the 3300-square-foot location in downtown Rifle.
“I tried to serve the valley down there (New Castle), and it just wasn’t working. There are a lot more people here in Rifle,” Christine said.
Christine said he closed up the New Castle location at the beginning of March and started the process of moving his inventory, a process that took nearly a month to complete. The Christines spent the next three weeks moving the inventory of the Railroad Avenue location to Third Street.
“99% of what we had in the two locations fit into the new location,” Doug said. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to get everything in, but we sure did.”
With businesses opening back up throughout the state the Christines opened the doors on their new location last week.
Kathy was busy making sure the store looked presentable while Doug helped customers who made their way into the store to take a peek at the merchandise.
“With all the things happening around the United States I’ve been very lucky and blessed,” Christine said.
Christine stopped collecting as he and Kathy near retirement, and they plan on running their store for a few more years selling as much of it as possible before they close up for good and take a little more time to go fishing and enjoy the outdoors of Colorado.
“I’m going to be here for a little while, and after I am done with my store I will probably retire and move on to something different,” Christine said.