Another Towne West Square store to close: ‘This breaks my heart’

Monday morning, the Wichita Animal Action League made a social media post to say it is closing its thrift store at Towne West Square.

The store, like WAAL in general, raised money to help animals and their humans, some of whom struggle to care for their pets. The post said the store raised about $40,000 in its short time open.

“This breaks my heart,” one commenter wrote.

“So sad!” said another.

Executive director Christy Fischer said the two-year-old shop will close at the end of February due to the lack of traffic at the once-thriving mall and the inability to trust in the utilities remaining on.

“We made the difficult decision that we’re going to have to close it down.”

She said it’s “pretty much impossible” to find another space WAAL can afford.

“We had a very good deal at the mall.”

The store is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays only.

“It was volunteer-run,” Fischer said. “They did a fantastic job.”

There will be sales of 50% to 75% off through the last Saturday in February.

WAAL has a number of community outreach programs to support pets and people, and Fischer said she’s open to ideas, including if anyone has a way to help keep the store open somewhere else.

“We would definitely be open to talking to somebody.”

Fischer said the last year has been particularly difficult for most nonprofits, but she said, “We’re doing anything we can to help those in the community who need our help the most.”