Discover hidden treasures at Open Box – Almonte’s unique shopping experience
Ever wonder what Amazon and other major retailers do with all those perfectly good, often unopened returns? Almonte’s Khodr Jarous and his family can tell you.
Better yet, they’ll show you at Open Box, their new, family-run business located at 91 Bridge Street (in what was the Almonte Potters Guild studio), where every visit is an adventure and deals abound.
From war to making Almonte home
Readers may remember that Khodr, Nour, Amjad and Jessica fled the civil war in Syria 9 years ago, arriving in Almonte during a particularly frigid mid-January. Since then, the family has made Almonte their home. Nour works at Almonte General Hospital, Amjad graduated from Almonte and District High School (ADHS), Jessica’s enjoying her first year at ADHS and their second daughter, Goldana, was born here and just celebrated her 8th birthday.
As of Saturday, March 1, you’ll see all or some of the family helping Khodr at Open Box.
“We had a soft opening that day,” says Nour. “As Almonte supports our business, we’ll bring in more merchandise to resell here.”
“Almonte needs a store selling new, quality but not expensive things,” interjects family friend Fay Devlin of Clayton. “It’s great to buy gorgeous underwear or fabulous sweaters from our friendly shopkeepers downtown, but sometimes a gal just needs a simple pair of moderately priced briefs. Or dried mealworms for her ducks. Or a light pad for tracing patterns. Or….”
That’s what’s special about a store like Open Box. You never know what might be available, but you may find the perfect something you never knew you needed.
The returns business
For the moment, the family is starting out small. They want to test the market and their business model.
“For now, just one box,” Khodr adds. That’s what the Jarous family are starting with. They explain that Amazon and other large retailers including Office Depot and Walmart auction off huge lots of returned goods. Liquidators purchase pallets upon pallets of boxes, sometimes without even knowing what’s in the boxes. These liquidators, located in larger centres like the Greater Toronto Area and Montréal, then sell the goods at their own warehouses or to smaller retailers.
Like Open Box.
Their business model features a special price-drop system. While the highest-quality and most-expensive products will be individually priced, most items will be priced according to the day of the week. On Saturday and Sunday, they’ll cost $25; prices then go down through the week so that by Friday, the price will be $5.
But here’s the catch—there’s often only one of each item! Will you grab that perfect find today, or will you wait and risk someone else snatching it up later in the week?
“Do I gamble and hope no one else wants the light pad?” Fay ponders. “Or do I grab it right away, knowing that it’s still priced to give me a deal?”
Shop local, save big
Open Box is more than a store—it’s a way to shop smarter, save money and support a local family’s dream. Stop by today at Open Box, where you can find anything.
Open Box is open 7 days a week, from 10 am to 5 pm. Currently, payment is in cash only.
