CENTER — On Saturday, April 6, downtown Center had about 25 smiling people who entered the freshly painted Rainbow’s End building laughing and excited to enjoy the newly re-opened thrift store and food bank.

The store was rocking with a live DJ playing lots of music for the celebration. Tamales and other delicious food were laid out on a table at the store, for all the attendees to enjoy. People walked up and down the aisles purchasing items and enjoying the event that marked the grand re-opening of the store after it had closed while it was being revamped and remodeled.

The ribbon cutting for the store took place about 11:30 a.m. shortly after La Puente Enterprises Executive Director Lance Cheslock arrived. La Puente Enterprises Director Jessica Ornelas used a big pair of red scissors to cut the ribbon in front of the store, marking the official grand re-opening of the store.

Ornelas was excited about the project that she had been overseeing. She walked into the store, after cutting the ribbon, and danced the cumbia in one of the aisles with store manager Samuel Salazar, as both enjoyed the music that was playing.

Ornelas said, “This is truly exciting, and I feel so blessed to be here today, and witness the opening of something that is going to help this community so much. We are so happy that we are able to finally reopen and help the community with so many great resources. There are so many people that helped with this, Lance, Sam, Shirley Garcia, Anita, Lalo Marquez, and Gabby, it wouldn’t have been possible without them. Here’s to helping the community. We are here for the community. We want to help the town of Center flourish and thrive.”

Executive Director Cheslock was also excited about the celebration.

“Of course, I am extremely excited to be here today,” Cheslock said. “All the profits and everything stay in this community. The generosity of the stuff that is given to the community will get converted into dollars here, or to giving things away, or to the food at the food bank. Whatever it is, it stays right here. It’s just a fantastic feeling.  Jessica, Sam, and so many volunteers have put so much love into this place. I am on cloud 9. I love the graphics. I love all of it. We have a lot of new inventory coming in too. Hats off to Jessica, Sam, and everyone that has worked hard for this. We love the community of Center.”

Salazar spoke about the dedication and hard work that had been put into the final touches and finishing the store.

Salazar pointed at Cheslock and said, “We of course could not have done any of this without that man right there, he is wonderful and really made this happen. Without him pushing us we probably wouldn’t be here. This last month has been crazy. We had a couple of people come down from our Alamosa store to help with painting. Anita, from the food bank, and her family, and the elders from her church really got the painting done for us. This is an example of the community coming together for the community. It feels good to see the people come together and help here. I feel excited and amazed. I feel like all the hard work me and Jessica, and everyone else that helped is definitely paying off in big ways. Honestly, we just opened, and I have never made this much money in an hour. I am truly excited to be here today and see this.”

For more information about the Rainbow’s End store in Center, contact Ornelas or Salazar at 719-589-8778.