BRIDGEPORT — Blake Bargains Resale Store and Custom Design opened its doors for the first time Thursday.

The store is located at 224 Howard St., Bridgeport. The building formerly housed Busack Realty, and the owners rent the space from the Busack family.

Owners Dustin and Emily Blake said this is their first time owning a business. The husband and wife said they buy and sell pallets of returned and overstocked merchandise from other businesses such as Mac Discount in Bridgeport.

The store carries a variety of items including home decor, kitchen items, school supplies and infant care supplies.

“We sell everything from auto parts to curtain rods. You never know what’s coming,” Dustin Blake said.

He said he would also like to sell larger items in the future such as kitchen appliances. He explained that the back of the building has some smoke damage after a nearby duplex caught fire in May. Once the smoke damage is repaired, there will be more room for merchandise.

Smaller items are in bins organized by price.

“You might have to hunt for items, but that’s part of the fun,” Dustin said.

He added that the store gets new items about twice a week. He said that items will decrease in price every day that they are not sold, and in the future, he hopes to have a table of free items on display every Sunday.

Emily said they purchased a pallet of baby gates, and those have been a big seller.

Dustin said he hopes to tear down some walls in the building within the next few months to create one large room to display the merchandise in.

Dustin also does custom engraving at the store. He has engraved stainless steel tumblers and leather keychains for sale at the shop. He said he hopes to get a more powerful laser in the future so that he can engrave more materials. He explained that when he engraves the steel tumblers, the laser is only cutting through the paint and not into the actual steel.

Dustin plans to also sell custom mugs and T-shirts in the future.

“We wanted to bring something into the valley so that people don’t have to travel to Pittsburgh to get the same experience,” he said.

He said he grew up on Howard Street, so he feels at home in the community. He added that his goal is to sell “decent items at a reasonable price.”

Dustin said the store got a handful of customers on Thursday, and business picked up on Friday morning.

He noted that he wanted to thank Ultimate Signs and Graphics in Bridgeport for helping him design the logo for the business and create the store’s sign out front.

“They’re great people,” he said.

The Blakes said they are learning as they go, and they hope to make more improvements to the store in the future.

Emily said the business owns the gravel parking lot behind the store on Hall Street. She recommends that shoppers park there and walk up the stairs to the storefront.

The discount store will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information about the store, visit Blake Bargains on Facebook or call the store at 740-325-6749. The owners also frequently post photos of items for sale on the business’s Facebook page.