Red White & Blue Thrift Store – A True Miracle on Waterbury’s ‘Miracle Mile’

There is nowhere that I've found in this great state of Connecticut where a dollar goes further than a thrift store. I think I may have just discovered the Holy Grail of Thrift on Wolcott Street in Waterbury.

I've driven into the Mattatuck Plaza Parking lot at 650 Wolcott Street in Waterbury easily thousands of times since the glory days of the plaza in the 70s, 80s and 90s, when Pathmark, ShopRite, and the original Scoreboard Restaurant brought non-stop vehicle traffic in daily.

Chuck E Cheese has been there for years, Popeye's Chicken and Big Lots is where I typically went, but just this past Saturday, I stepped foot into the Red White and Blue Thrift Store for the first time ever. I've always been fascinated with the amount of vehicles and hundreds of people I've seen streaming into and out of this place, now I know why it's as busy in volume as say, an Apple Store.

My first impression was "Holy s--t," as I walked into the place. Every inch of this joint, which is the size of a large supermarket, is buzzing with activity. It's truly overwhelming. The second thing that I picked up is that if you're in the market for anything, seriously, anything household, check here first, because chances are, it's within these 4 walls.

For example:

Any glass item ever made between 1920 and 2020.

Silver platters, muffin tins, teapots from your youth, measuring cups:

I was so excited to find a small black metal steamer pot! I have the big 25 gallon one for my lobster cooking, but this small one is perfect for clams, corn on the cob, etc., and look at that price? $5.99. Granted, it was most likely under someone's sink on Willow Street for 25 years, but there was not a speck of rust on it.

The biggest surprise came as I approached the incredible bustling checkout area:

These ladies and gents don't mess around. As soon as they hand you your receipt, they're yelling out "NEXT!" to the head of the line.

I put my used steamer up on the counter, and she asked me for $3.15. Huh? I hadn't noticed that mostly everything in the store was 50% the ticketed price that day. Bonus on top of thrift? A true miracle on Waterbury's Miracle Mile.