Bargain shoppers in Delaware County now have a new store to hunt, but the store provides far more than opportunities for great deals.

BINABLE, a retail bin store, was opened by The Alpha Group on June 21 at 1000 Alpha Drive. BINABLE purchases truckloads of items resulting from overstock, liquidation, or returns, and then sells them individually in the store. The store utilizes a falling price structure that sees items begin being sold at $14 on Fridays before falling to $1 on the following Thursday if still there.

With the falling price structure, inventory in the store is constantly moving in and out of the door to keep the selection fresh.

But while Alpha Group is happy to provide the community with a pleasant shopping experience, the opportunities the store provides for its employees represent the very nature of Alpha Group’s existence.

Established in 1970, The Alpha Group is a 501c nonprofit organization that provides services in a variety of ways for individuals with developmental disabilities throughout Delaware County and 12 other counties in Ohio. Services include adult day programming, job searching and on-the-job support, in-home care, workforce development, and transportation.

BINABLE offers the chance for those with developmental disabilities to showcase their skills and receive paid, on-the-job training in the store. Alpha Group CEO Liz Owens told The Gazette the idea for BINABLE began to take shape a couple of years ago after Alpha Group made the decision that it wanted to “reimagine how we support the individuals who are doing some of the work readiness training.”

“This opportunity came about because it is an opportunity to provide them with a different experience while they are earning an hourly wage,” Owens said. “We wanted to create a disability-friendly social enterprise that would help support us and our nonprofit into the future as well as bring brand awareness to Alpha Group and what we do. And obviously also give the community a good place to shop and have a good experience.”

Owens said that while there are many employers in the community who support the hiring of people with developmental disabilities, the job market has become increasingly volatile for everyone looking for employment. Owens noted Alpha Group utilizes a “job carve” for those who may not be able to carry out every task associated with a particular job, and some employers are finding it increasingly difficult to take on those workers.

“(BINABLE) gives them the opportunities to get some experience so maybe they’ll be able to do more things when they go out into the community (for jobs),” she said. “We’re giving them customer service experience, they’re getting stocking experience, they’re learning to run the cash registers if they want to. All of that is very valuable to the individuals.”

In addition to adding to their future versatility in the workforce, Owens said working at BINABLE is valuable to the employees because it gives them interaction with the community they live in while also being able to earn a meaningful wage to help support their livelihood.

“And it’s just a sense of pride as well for what they do,” Owens added.

BINABLE currently has 11 people hired, and at least half of them are people with disabilities.

Although the store has been open for several weeks, it will hold a grand opening on Friday, July 19. Hours for BINABLE are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The store is closed on Sunday and Monday.

For more information, visit the BinAble Facebook page or The Alpha Group website at www.alphagroup.net.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.