The reuse store at ReGen Monterey, a mile and a half north of Marina, operated by the Veterans Transition Center of California. Everything on the floor was headed for the landfill until someone brought it here instead. Every sale keeps usable goods in circulation, pays Veterans for their work, and funds VTC programs.
Last Chance Mercantile is exactly what the name says — the last stop before the landfill. Books to boats, scrap lumber to furniture, clothing to household treasures: the stock is enormous, it is one of a kind, and it changes every single day, because it comes from whatever the community brought in that morning. The store has been doing this since 1991.
VTC has run it since 2021, under contract with ReGen Monterey, the regional waste agency whose facility it sits on. One store does three jobs at once. It keeps usable goods out of the landfill — more than 600 tons of them in the last twelve months. It offers paid work and real job experience to Veterans. And the proceeds come back to VTC, funding programs for Veterans and their families across California.
Nothing here is guaranteed and nothing lasts long, which regulars will tell you is the whole appeal. Come often, and come early.
Money spent at the Mercantile does not disappear into a chain. It stays here. Proceeds fund VTC's housing, Food Pantry, and support programs — the practical work of helping a Veteran get settled and stay settled.
The jobs matter as much as the money. The Veterans Jobs Training Program runs on the store floor, open to Veterans in VTC transitional housing or case management, for up to six months at a time. Twelve Veterans have come through it in its first four years, and two now work at the store permanently. A paycheck, a reference, and recent experience on an application are often the pieces that have been missing.
The store is open Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday. Donations go to the drop-off area just past the store entrance, and you get a slip, so the donation is tax-deductible. The site is open-air and wheelchair-accessible. Some things cannot be taken — mattresses, hazardous waste, and anything damaged among them — so check the store’s list before loading up.
The Mercantile turns what you no longer need into wages and services for Veterans. If you would rather give directly, a financial gift lets VTC put resources exactly where they are needed most.
Donate TodayVeterans Transition Center of California is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit — EIN #77-0431413.