HASTINGS, Neb. – Just four months after buying and renovating an abandoned grocery store building, Crossroads Mission Avenue is ready to open a new thrift store in Hastings.

"This was more than we ever could have imagined." said Executive Director Daniel Buller.

The old Crossroads thrift store was located in the basement of the current homeless shelter in Hastings.

Buller says a lot of the mission’s clientele struggled to access the thrift store in the basement, prompting the move.

"Having the old store in the basement of the homeless shelter certainly had its challenges," said Buller. "Some of the benefits of moving to the new store is additional parking, handicap access, things that we weren't able to offer at the homeless shelter there."

Moving the thrift store out of the current shelter also means more space for Crossroads to use.

Buller says the extra space will greatly benefit the shelter, especially with colder weather right around the corner.

"We're excited, because at the homeless shelter we're going to be able to expand our living spaces a little bit," said Buller. "Make sure especially in the winter months when our occupancy goes way up, that we'll be able to spread out a little bit more so that people are more comfortable in the homeless shelter."

The new 6,500 square feet of retail space will continue to allow the non-profit to provide low-cost clothing and household goods to the Hastings community, as it already does in five other cities across Central Nebraska.

Crossroads is also launching a food recovery program, which collects still usable food from grocery stores, and donates them to 15 different food pantries across Central Nebraska.

"There a lot of people around Central Nebraska that are facing food insecurities. We want to get that food into pantries and into the hands of people that need it," said Buller. "Much of the basement will come for storage for us to store that food, so that on a monthly basis we can go out to those 15 food pantries and make sure they have what they need."

Going forward, the Hastings Crossroads Mission Avenue is asking people to start bringing their donations to the S. Elm Ave. location, where the donation trailer is now located. 

Crossroads is open to the public, and the Hastings thrift store will open its doors on Monday, Sept. 23.