No, Out of the Closet Thrift Store in WeHo is Not Closing for Good on Santa Monica Blvd

The scenery at the Out of the Closet Thirst Store in WeHo, located at 8224 Santa Monica Boulevard, had many regular customer worried that the location was closing for good after witnesses reported that the store had been emptied out, shelves were cleared away and the floor appeared to be ripped out–never a good sign for a business during the pandemic.

However, it turns out the discount store benefiting the nonprofit AIDS Healthcare Foundation, will only be closed for a few days while the store gets a quick makeover with the installation of new flooring and new displays.

Readers sent WEHO TIMES photos of the empty storefronts and expressed concern that the WeHo Out of the Closet was lost for good. A visit to the location reveals the opposite:

“Attn: Today Monday, February 15, 2021, we will be closing at 3pm and will remain closed due to repairs to our store,” reads a sign posted at the door from earlier this week. “We will resume regular business on Friday, [February] 19, 2021. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Out of the Closet is a nonprofit chain of thrift stores whose revenues provide medical care for patients with HIV/AIDS. The chain is owned and operated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a Los Angeles-based charity that provides medical, preventive, and educational resources for patients. AHF is the nation’s largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention, and education provider. Out of the Closet thrift stores generate income to help fund the medical services AHF provides for those patients who are unable to pay. Proceeds from Out of the Closet Thrift Stores directly benefit AHF.

Those who shop at Out of the Closet Thrift Stores, directly help people living with HIV and AIDS with ninety-six cents of every dollar collected at these stores going directly to funding for AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s HIV/AIDS programs and their new housing services, as well as on-site pharmacies and free HIV testing.

Out Of The Closet was founded by AHF president and co-founder Michael Weinstein, whose retail experience stemmed from his family’s furniture business on the East Coast. He opened the first Out Of The Closet in Atwater Village in 1990. The ‘Out of the Closet’ name has been federally trademarked by AHF since 1997.

To learn more, visit https://outofthecloset.org.