DATE: Saturday, April 19, 1997              TAG: 9704190309

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   25 lines

GOODWILL TO OPEN LARGE STORE IN SUFFOLK SHOPPING CENTER

Goodwill Industries of Hampton Roads will open a 13,300-square-foot facility in Suffolk Shopping Center, in the old Montgomery Ward building.

Eventually it will serve as a job development center for Goodwill outlets across Hampton Roads.

Executive Director John K. Morgan III said the Suffolk outlet, to open by late June, will rival Goodwill's largest location, in Virginia Beach. The center is expected to employ about 16 people in its retail and production areas.

About 75 percent of those full-and part-time employees will come from the disabled in the community, Morgan said.

A former Suffolk Goodwill store, on Washington Street, did well until nearby downtown stores started closing, Morgan said.

``We're really excited to be coming back to Suffolk,'' Morgan said. ``We were out there until about seven or eight years ago, and it was one of our most successful retail outlets. We're looking forward to re-establishing our presence there.''

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu