What do thrift stores, estate sales, and a willingness to take a chance have in common?

For one local entrepreneur, they helped change the course of his life.

Producer John Branscum introduces us to the owner of Gabe's Good Goods.

(bright music) - [John] There's one thing about Charlotte's NoDa neighborhood.

There's a good chance you'll find something good.

And in the case of Gabe's Good Goods, that's kind of the point.

- The goods are good.

It's a very unserious name for a very unserious person.

- [John] Meet owner and self-proclaimed unserious person, Gabe Cartagena.

- It's good alliteration.

It's catchy.

The goods are, in fact, good.

- [John] Now, here are a few things that you might find in his 2,700 square foot retail space.

- [Gabe] Mid-century, post-modern furniture.

I have local artists that fill my walls.

Vinyl records, vintage books.

I do my best to keep it affordable.

- [John] And if you're wondering what Gabe is most drawn to- - Glass and pottery.

I love glass.

There's so much color, so much joy, so much vibrancy in depression era and post-war glass and pottery that just doesn't really exist much now.

And I just love to hold the things.

- [John] Beyond what he sells, Gabe says a lot of his decisions come down to what he believes should be preserved.

- I have a very strong passion for the preservation of rare and extinct materials.

To my right here beside you is a rosewood credenza, which has been, my entire lifetime, illegal to harvest.

Nothing in here deserves to be in a landfill, and it stresses me out sometimes when I walk into a store and I want to buy everything.

- [John] But before the retail space, this unlikely entrepreneur was on a completely different path.

Gabe grew up in Gastonia, where he says life came with a few challenges.

- My family spent a lot of time in thrift stores.

It was what we could afford, and that never really left me.

- [Jason] After high school, he attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where let's just say things didn't go quite as planned.

- When I dropped out of business school, I needed a job, so I went to cooking.

- [John] For nearly a decade, Gabe followed a culinary path without any formal training, eventually working as a line cook in high pressure kitchens across Charlotte.

- It was a hard job, 10 or more hours, just cutting things and flipping saute pans.

- [John] Doing the same work and movement over and over took its toll on the young cook.

- I've got carpal tunnel in both my hands, and I got to the point where I literally could not feel anything with my right hand, and it was a turning point.

- [John] Unable to work in the kitchen while recovering from surgery, he returned to his thrift store roots.

- I enjoy the hunt of finding things, so it would be estate sales, auctions.

It starts small, starts with one thing, and then it becomes an addiction.

- [John] At first, he sold items on social media, and to his surprise- - There was actually no financial stress.

I was doing great, and that's what made me really realize that I should probably be doing something else.

- [John] That's something else, leaping feet first into entrepreneurship.

- I've had an incredible risk tolerance my whole life.

What's the worst that can happen?

I'm broke again?

I've been broke my whole life.

Let's go.

- [John] That level of risk, well, it took a turn in the fall of 2025.

- I had no clue that I was going to be in a retail space.

- [John] But before signing a lease- - I called my accountant and I said, "So how would you feel about me opening a brick and mortar store?

Is this, like, possible?"

And he said, "Absolutely not."

- [John] Meet the accountant, Eddie Hernandez.

- He was saying the business side I need some structure, I need some organization.

I told him, "Hey, write me a business plan."

And it was beautiful chaos.

That's the best way to describe it.

Read it through, and some fantastic ideas and was like, "Hey, do you want to do this together?"

- [John] So they came to an agreement.

- He's an artist, and you have to let him work, and that was our arrangement.

For me, though, when it comes to, like, the bookkeeping and, you know, the vendors and the contracts, I'll work on that.

- [John] January 1st of 2026, Gabe's Good Goods opened its doors for business, and he recognizes how important his staff is to his success.

- Left to my own devices, this place looks like a warehouse.

Like, I went a month without my merchandising manager.

He goes around and makes things pretty.

- [John] With his solid staff taking care of the day-to-day, Gabe says he can focus on his strengths.

- I go picking every day.

I cannot stop myself.

I love an auction.

I love to stand in a group of people and look around and see who wants the things that I want and go, "Yep," over and over and over again, not even really paying attention to how much money I'm spending.

- [John] For Gabe, it all comes back to value in things and in people.

- We did this.

I used to say I did this, but it wasn't just me.

It was a combination of everyone involved.

- For Carolina Impact, I'm John Branscum.