Did you see Mercy Home’s resale shops featured on WGN morning news? Feature reporter Ana Belaval, who covered the grand opening of the Mercy Beaucoup resale boutique 15 years ago for her Around Town segments on WGN, returned to North Wells Street to see how the shop has faired since and to learn more about our new pop-up shop next door.
Opened in 2011, Mercy Beaucoup is an upscale resale boutique located at 1545 N. Wells in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. It offers men’s and women’s brand name and designer fashions at a fraction of retail prices. Inventory is generously donated, which allows the shop to price competitively against consignment stores. The store enjoys a loyal customer base which has helped ensure its longevity even during the challenge to similar businesses during the pandemic.
Fr. Scott had the idea to create the store to sell donated items that couldn’t be used by our young people as a way of generating resources for our work with young people.
“There’s a priority here with the donations,” he explained. “First and foremost, it’s for the children. What the children can’t use, we didn’t have a place for [before]. The thought was, why not create a high-end retail shop, a place in which we can sell items at a discounted rate and use the income to support the young people at Mercy Home.”
Late last year, Fr. Scott announced that Mercy Home would operate a temporary store nearby that sold merchandise donated to the Home by a local police department that had been recovered from a railyard theft. The pop-up store features brand new merchandise that appeals to a younger demographic.
“It’s mostly considered streetwear,” said Mercy Beaucoup Manager Lynn Spaeth. “It’s edgy, young, urban type of stuff. It’s completely different from Mercy Beaucoup.”
Like the Mercy Beaucoup resale boutique, proceeds from the pop-up shop directly support our mission.
In the first WGN morning news segment, Belaval interviewed Spaeth at the original Mercy Beaucoup. In a second segment, Katie McDonald took Belaval on a tour of the new pop-up shop.
Like all pop-up enterprises, the incredible deals weren’t meant to last forever. The pop-up shop is scheduled to close on January 31st. But that means that right now is a great time to save even more on high-end apparel. All merchandise in the pop-up shop is 50% off from now through the end of the month. Some unsold merchandise will be made available at the original Mercy Beaucoup afterward.
For more than 20 years, Ana Belaval has showcased people, places and things of interest in and around the Chicago area in her beloved “Around Town” segments. In addition to her 2011 and 2026 profiles of Mercy Beaucoup, she has interviewed Mercy Home representatives in connection to past Chicago events. The award-winning journalist is also a substitute anchor for WGN Morning News and contributes to the community affairs show Adelante Chicago!
Thank you to Ana Belaval and our friends at WGN-TV for visiting our stores and helping us get the word out about Mercy Home!
Helping kids never goes out of style. Learn more about Mercy Beaucoup–the boutique with a mission.
