Cloquet Goodwill store to close

Eleven people will be out of jobs this holiday season as the Goodwill store in Cloquet will close Dec. 22 after more than 30 years of operation here.

"Economically they just couldn't do it anymore," store manager Sue Bauer said this week. She has been at the store for 13 years and, like many of the employees there, is looking for a new job.

Goodwill Industries in Duluth said Cloquet workers have been offered positions at its other stores in the region. Bauer said most of them have transportation issues that won't allow them to drive to locations in Duluth, Hermantown or Superior.

Goodwill has 15 stores in its northeast region, 14 with the closing in Cloquet.

"Everybody is devastated," said 17-year employee Lisa Vaineo. "It came out of left field. It's going to be hard."

Marcy Vogt, president and CEO of Goodwill, said in a press release that "our board of directors has concluded that this consolidation is a necessary step in becoming a more efficient organization."

When asked for specifics on why the store is closing, Goodwill spokesman Scott Vezina said the organization would not elaborate beyond its press release.

The Cloquet location will continue to take donations until the closing Dec. 22. It currently is having a 50-percent-off holiday sale.

Goodwill was organized in Duluth in 1919, the 10th regional group in the nation. It is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and its revenue funds its mission of job creation. A 501(c)3 designation under U.S. tax code allows for a federal tax exemption as public charities, private foundations or private operating foundations.

Today, the Duluth organization serves 15 cities and 29 counties with a mission to provide employment and employment services to people with disabilities or other barriers to employment through its donation-driven stores and operations. It opened its latest store in Two Harbors in 2016. Last year, Goodwill employed 186 individuals through its service programs. Three of them work in Cloquet. Overall, there are more than 400 employees.

Vaineo is disabled, making the prospect of landing a job outside of Goodwill all the more difficult.

"It's harder for me to get a job in the real world," she said.

Like the other employees, Vaineo was weighing her options this week. Working in Hermantown seems daunting, and she spoke plainly. "I want to work in Cloquet. But I need a job."

"Our top priority is the people we employ and serve and we will make every effort to ensure as easy a transition as possible," Vogt said of the Cloquet closing. "We will continue to fulfill our mission of providing employment and employment services ... while taking the necessary steps to make our organization stronger."

Vogt hinted that a store could come back to the area if conditions change. Vezina, the spokesman for Goodwill in Duluth, said "We hope to be back in the area in the future with a new and improved location."

That's cold comfort for employees like Vaineo. She said the Cloquet store was known for its friendliness and the connection made with customers. She said it's a shame that link will be broken, especially in December.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas to us," she said.