The popularity of the reality TV show “Storage Wars” led two entrepreneurs in Bethel, Conn., to open a thrift shop, which recently expanded to a bigger space. Eugene Glouzgal and Brian Donahue opened Suite Connectors a year ago after becoming storage-auction hunters.
Donahue, who’s also a real estate agent, told the source he became “addicted” to “Storage Wars” as well as “Pawn Stars,” a reality show on the History channel. The shop’s selection of products come directly from the storage units purchased by the business owners. Most recently, Donahue won a unit containing Coca-Cola memorabilia. Other recent finds include antique toy trucks and photography equipment.
Business at the thrift shop boomed, and the store quickly outgrew its space. Suite Connectors recently moved to a bigger area in the same building on Stony Hill Road. The new storefront also included a merge with Danbury Action Sports Headquarters, a paintball supplier, which Glouzgal operates with his brother. The merge allows the two companies to share in the rental costs, something more business owners are doing these days, Bobbi Jo Beers, executive director of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce, told the source.
Launched in 2010 on the cable TV channel A&E, “Storage Wars” follows a cast of regulars as they bid on goods from tenants in default on their self-storage lease. The show follows the auction process and the “reveal” as auction winners are given access to their buys and estimates on their value.
