A thrift store that had been open in Lincoln for more than half a century closed abruptly last month after an ownership dispute.
The Family Thrift Center at 1745 O St. closed its doors at the end of the year after 52 years in business.
The store was part of a California-based chain of for-profit thrift stores that sold donated merchandise from the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Robert Ellison, who was majority owner of the store, could not be reached for comment, but a representative of his company, who did not want to be named, said a dispute between Ellison and a partner led to the closing.
Essentially, the person said, both partners wanted the other one to buy him out, and neither would agree to do so, so they ultimately decided to shutter the store.
"It was just a last-minute decision to not keep it going," the company representative said.
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The person said the store had struggled financially for the past few years, ever since a city street resurfacing project closed the street in front of the store for three months in 2012.
The representative said the store opened in Lincoln in 1966.
The 10,650-square-foot location, which sits right on the southwest corner of 18th and O streets, is now listed for lease.
The local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America could not be reached for comment.