Shopping in Beatrice

Walking into a HobbyTown USA is like immersing yourself in a science fair, toy store, art-supply shop, and robot dance-off all at the same time. Stocked with items ranging from model Camaro kits ($20.99) to easy-to-care-for ant farms ($14.99), the store has something for any particular age or interest. Spice up the tide of warm weather with interactive outdoor activities such as flying Turbo Jet 2000 gliders ($4.99) or kites shaped like 3-D space shuttles ($19.99), which, unlike real space shuttles, serve decent in-flight meals. For rainy days, you can always just pick up a 10-piece carving-knife set ($4.95) and an eight-color all-purpose paint set ($11.59) to repurpose any banister as a totem pole of achievement.

In 1978, Jan Gauger founded One More Time, where she stocked racks with gently used women's clothes and accessories from labels such as Gap, Kate Spade, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and Eddie Bauer. To this day, Jan oversees the shop's daily goings-on alongside her daughters Sarah and Kate. They helm a careful consignment process that seeks out items two-years-old or newer, ensuring that shoppers unearth only trendy, high-quality shoes, blouses, dresses, and jewelry. The family's dedication to saving orphaned garments also means that fewer unwanted clothes wind up in overcrowded landfills or layered on uncomfortably warm scarecrows.

Threads-Footloose & Fancy believes in a two-pronged philosophy: its owners are deeply committed to both protecting the environment and to outfitting people of all ages with comfortable, fashionable clothing that help them to achieve a healthy lifestyle. To combine these two passions, the eco-conscious business only carries clothing from brands devoted to using recycled materials, biodegradable vegetable dyes, and environmentally friendly production methods, such as The North Face.

After equipping customers for more than three decades, Threads-Footloose & Fancy has learned to keep up with the latest trends. Recently, they've panned back their eco-friendly and trend-spotting telescope to focus on clothing, too, stocking up on jackets, coats, and outdoor garb from The North Face's Summit Series, Patagonia, Arc'teryx, and Lucky Brand, as well as women's workout apparel from Lolë and yoga apparel from lucy.

From the humble beginnings of a five-bike shop in 1981, Cycle Works has since expanded and now showcases thousands of bikes and accessories lining the floors and walls of two separate stores. At both locations, certified bike mechanics maintain smooth-riding bikes with tune-ups and customize new bikes to suit both cyclist and terrain. Once a two-wheeler has been selected, technicians measure bike and rider, and make necessary adjustments to the bike to assure a correct and comfortable fit. Before making final decisions, they let the customer take the bike out for a malted shake and a test-drive to assure compatibility. They also guarantee each sale with lifetime brake and derailleur adjustments at no cost to the original owner.