‘A gift right back to our customers’: Staunton’s Refill Renew expands, relocates

Refill Renew provides customers who are environmentally conscious an affordable way to buy products and put them in recycled containers.

The Staunton business began at 110 Lewis Street in June 2019.

Owner Mandy Drumheller of Waynesboro said the spot was the “perfect starter business location.”

But tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. a ribbon cutting will be held to celebrate Refill Renew’s relocation to 240 North Central Avenue in Staunton next to Chicano Boy. Door prizes and refreshments from local restaurants will be available, as well as special sales on tanks and barrels.

“We more than doubled our floor size,” Drumheller said of the relocation on May 1, 2024.

The store is able to offer expanded options, new products and more space for customers to browse and move around.

Drumheller’s target customers are interested in natural products, such as deodorants, laundry detergent, lotion and shampoo. Refill also offers in bulk products found in grocery stores.

Recycled containers are available for free to purchase products and carry them home in.

“We encourage people to bring their own containers from home,” Drumheller. Each item is weighed, and customers only pay for the products they purchase, not containers.

Drumheller said that when she heard the owners of the shopping center on North Central Avenue were planning to update the exterior and were looking for new tenants, she jumped at the chance to move her store in. However, she did not anticipate the benefits of sharing parking space and a building with other businesses.

“Being next to Chicano Boy has really boosted our sales,” she said of foot traffic.

In September 2022, Drumheller opened a second Refill Renew store at 1717 Allied Lane in Charlottesville’s McIntire Plaza by Cville Coffee.

She said she and her staff are grateful for the community’s support in Staunton and Charlottesville which enabled the business to grow.

“It’s kind of like a gift right back to our customers,” Drumheller said of the bigger storefront with more of a variety of products.

Refill Renew’s hours are Mondays to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m.