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HIGH POINT — Back near housewares and books is something you don't expect to see in a thrift store.

It's a retro-style coffee counter, complete with black vinyl barstools that swivel.

There's an espresso machine. Ghiradelli chocolates and a selection of Numi teas, too. Breaking news airs on a flatscreen television, and there's even free Wi-Fi.

A coffee cup light -- with the Goodwill logo on the center of the cup -- hangs over it.

Yes, you are in a Goodwill thrift store. And you can order a frappe or a latte.

Or a smoothie with an energy shot.

The coffee bar, called Edgar's Coffee, was added to the Goodwill store on Samet Drive in mid-May. The north High Point store was chosen to pilot the venture because of its location near the busy Palladium Shopping Center off Wendover Avenue. The idea evolved from customer feedback last year, says Goodwill marketing director Chris Gorham.

More people are shopping at Goodwill these days, he says. In recent years, the central region of Goodwill Industries -- Guilford, Rockingham, Randolph, Alamance and Caswell counties -- reported more than 1 million shoppers annually. That's about a 10 percent increase from about three years ago.

Also, following a five-year push to upgrade and remodel the stores, shoppers are spending more time in them. Before remodeling efforts, shoppers spent no more than seven minutes in a store. Now, the average customer might browse about 20 minutes. Surveys last year showed they wanted something to eat or drink while shopping.

"So we're listening to what our customers need," Gorham says.

Coffee shops are still popular, along with a growing interest in healthier options such as fruit smoothies and herbal tea. So Goodwill took out a $40,000 business loan and added a coffee bar to an unused area of the north High Point store. It's named after Goodwill founder the Rev. Edgar James Helms.

A former Starbucks employee offered advice on merchandise and training.

Edgar's Coffee uses many of the same vendors as Starbucks, except drinks cost about 20 cents less at Goodwill, and feeds its job-training program.

The program offers free job coaching, training and networking to the unemployed and people facing employment barriers. Edgar's Coffee could even provide barista training for job program participants. The average barista salary in High Point is about $18,000.

Gorham says the store upgrades follow Goodwill's efforts to change people's attitudes about shopping there. It's no longer a "drabby and dark" place to shop, he says.

Since Edgar's opened, it's even attracted people who aren't regular Goodwill shoppers. Some have stopped by just to check out the coffee bar. He's received numerous e-mails from customers with positive responses.

Since its opening, Edgar's Coffee has served more than 1,000 customers, with average daily sales of $100. Such sales surpassed expectations, and plans are under way to open another Edgar's Coffee at Greensboro's Battleground Avenue store next.

Etta Riedl, manager of Goodwill's Samet Drive store, now notices more young shoppers.

"College-age students ... think it's the greatest thing," she says. "It's not a place just for old people."

And her staff? Regina Overby, also a store manger, had never been to Starbucks. Overby, who says she mostly drinks Pepsi, had her first shot of espresso during barista training.

"I thought, 'Oh Lord, have mercy,'" she says.

She said it made her hyper.

She prefers to drink the fruit smoothies. But her favorite thing to make is a frappe.

"They're like making a milkshake," she says.

Riedl likes the addition.

"The store had a good feelin' anyway. But now ... you're not just showin' up at an old thrift store anymore. Now you can have your cappuccino and thrift shop, too, and have money left over."

Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or tina.firesheets@news-record.com