Staten Island Card and Gift Store Ventures Into Woodbridge With a New Store

Thriftway Cardsmart opened just two weeks ago and it already has customers raving over their huge variety of cards and gifts. The store, tucked into the ShopRite Shopping Center next to the Shannon Rose Pub, has provided some welcome financial relief for shoppers looking for nice things at good prices.

Helen Gilligan, a store customer, was rifling through the greeting card racks, searching for just the right cards for the long list of weddings, birthdays, and graduations on her calendar.

The store has a welcome policy of "50% off all the time on all everyday and seasonal greeting cards," as a store sign brags. The strategic pricing and gift selection impressed Gilligan.

"Woodbridge seriously needed a new card store!" said Gilligan, a slew of personally-chosen greeting cards in her hand.

Howard Dorf, who, along with his partner, owns four other Thriftway Cardsmart stores in Staten Island, was happy with the decision to open the doors on a store in Woodbridge. "We heard good things about this shopping center and about Shannon Rose. We thought it was an ideal spot and decided to venture into New Jersey," he said.

In addition to the year-round 50 percent off pricing on cards, Thriftway Cardsmart is unique in other ways. They are open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, Dorf said - a great convenience for the last-minute gift buyer and card-shopping procrastinator. For a limited time, they are also giving out free gifts with any $5 purchase.

The store's stock-in-trade are the cards and gifts which are perfect for baby showers, weddings, baptism ceremonies, communions, graduations, sweet 16, birthday, holidays, and all other special occasions. There is also a large selection of sports and others collectibles, as well as balloon arrangements.

Among the most popular items are special Santa Barbara Martini & Wine glasses, Willow Tree Angels, Precious Moments Figurines, and Kitchen Fairies, Dorf said.

"The people here are really friendly, and business seems positive and promising," said Dorf.

The Woodbridge location couldn't be at a more ideal spot. "I need a card for my daughter's shower, and we have weddings, birthdays, a graduation, and a communion coming up," Gilligan said. "This is great!"