African Store tackles changes while helping immigrants

SCHUYLER --  A store that began in Colorado is now the largest retailer offering Somali goods in the Midwest, owners claim. After relocating to a Casey's storefront in Schuyler, the African Store soon grew to a 10,000 square foot building -- with a restaurant attached. But not all changes to the African Store have been about expansion.

"In the last year everything has changed," said co-owner Eric Hudson.

The African Store in Schuyler serves 50 to 200 people a day, many of them Somali immigrants who need help moving.

The owners' son Hamza Hersi said he gave up a life in Somalia and the opportunity to play basketball to help his parents serve Schuyler's African immigrants. "The reason we built the store is for people who just came from Africa, so they can be with us, they can feel at home as Africa," said Hersi.

But co-owner Eric Hudson says he's seeing a dramatic drop in those Somali immigrants to Schuyler. And it's not the only difference 20-21 has brought.

"From delivering furniture, to going and picking up from the store, just the amount of interaction with people has gone down. Huge supply chain issues, especially in the food," Hudson said.

It pushed them to remove some ingredients from their menu, and switch meat options. At the same time, their Indian spices and Egyptian couches are taking weeks longer to arrive.

"If somebody doesn't have it, sometimes it's a three-month delay," Hudson said.

Thankfully, holiday shopping is shifting the tide. "It's coming back a little bit, in the last month we've seen an uptick.

"You won't see another store like this in Nebraska," Hudson said.