I’m eating My plan was to eat at the new Goodwill Coffee House every day this week for breakfast and lunch. To read the first installment, click here and to read part two, click here.

Well it turns out my eyes are a little bigger than my blog, or maybe my editorial calendar is a little bigger than my tummy, but when I staked out this quest, I neglected to consider things like “offsite lunch meetings.” As a result, I wasn’t able to keep up with eating breakfast and lunch at the Coffee House every day. But I do have some more updates!

I stuck with my word and had a bagel sandwich Wednesday morning. And you may notice in the photo above that I’ve once again gone with ham, egg and cheese. But here’s the thing — I had the bagel toasted, but I wanted to keep the ham and cheese cold. So even though it’s structurally very similar to Monday’s breakfast, the experience was much different. And I really liked this! The combo of the warm bagel with the cold innards was something I really enjoyed and that I’m honestly probably going to stick with as a result of this experiment.

So then I had an offsite lunch meeting Wednesday, was offsite Thursday morning, we had a groundbreaking for our new store in Gretna on Thursday afternoon (coming soon to the blog!) and before you know it, it’s Friday morning.

It’s the last Friday in Lent, so I decided to use that opportunity to abstain from the meat and enjoy a simple plain bagel with cream cheese, which you can see above on the right. Now what you can also see above on the right is that I’m really bad at spreading cream cheese, so I decided to take this photo before I defaced this otherwise innocent bagel even further.

One thing I’ve neglected to mention is that the menu for the Coffee House is online — you can view it by clicking here (PDF). And another thing that we’re excited to announce is that throughout the month of April, we’ll be offering specials on various menu items. For example, each Wednesday in April, we’ll have a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant; on Fridays, we’ll have BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on a pretzel bun. Keep an eye here on the blog for more updates on specials.

And stop by The Coffee House! We’re open seven days a week until 4pm at the Benson Park Plaza store at 72nd & Ames! Just like at our stores, your purchases at the Coffee House support our employment and training programs.

I’m eating at the new Goodwill Coffee House every day this week for breakfast and lunch. To read the first installment, click here.

I decided to evolve incrementally on my breakfast selection today. Instead of ham, egg and cheese on a croissant, I went with bacon, egg and cheese.

As much as I do love my normal H-E-C combo, I do like the crispiness of the bacon strips. Even if the plant and animal kingdoms won’t notice the difference, it was just enough that I could over here on my end of the food chain.

At lunch, I went with the “I’m five years old” special and got some ham and cheese on white bread. There is something very comforting to me about a nice, cool ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwich on white bread. Toss in a pop and a bag of Doritos (note to readers: I did that!), and I’m ready to throw this down, hop on my bike and go to the pool (note to boss: I didn’t do that!).

I know I said it yesterday, but tomorrow morning, I really want to try a bagel sandwich for breakfast.

It’s been one month since the Goodwill Coffee House opened its doors, and to celebrate all the good stuff they have — blended coffee drinks, iced coffee drinks, smoothies, sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks and more — I’ve decided to eat breakfast and lunch there every day this week.

I can tell you that I’ve already staked out my favorites: the ham, egg & cheese croissant for breakfast and the turkey sandwich for lunch. But thanks to the variety on the menu, the daily specials and Coffee House Ellie’s promise to help me figure out some creative combinations, I’m going to have something different each time I eat there this week. And — this is where it gets relevant to you — I’m going to share those selections with you here on the blog each day.

I decided that Day 1 would include a celebration of those aforementioned favorites, so I had the ham, egg & cheese croissant for breakfast with a carton of orange juice.

What I like about this sandwich is that it’s a warm, tasty way to start my day. After they’ve finished building your sandwich right before your eyes, they’ll heat it if you’d like. I always say yes to the heating, because it makes me feel nice and cozy in these relentless winter mornings. And then I usually get a pop or some other cold drink and totally disrupt that, because caffeine. But then each bite of the sandwich takes me back under that blanket.

Anyway, I’m excited to try other breakfast options, though I’m a little frightened for my ham, egg & cheese croissant that it’ll be dethroned as my favorite. On to lunch!
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On March 28th, Goodwill will host a Ground Breaking Ceremony for the agency’s newest retail/donation/training location at 11722 Standing Stone Drive in Gretna, Neb., on the south side of Highway 31 at Bryan Street.

The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m.

Gretna Mayor Jim Timmerman and Brad Stauffer, President, Gretna Chamber, along with Goodwill leadership will be in attendance.

The Goodwill retail/donation/training facility will be designed by RDG Schutte Wilscam Birge and constructed by the Kiewit Building Group. The Gretna location will measure 15,500 sq. ft. and will house a retail store, production room, donation drop-off door and an employment & training room. Construction is scheduled for completion by fall 2013 and will be Goodwill’s 16th such facility, with others located throughout eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

“The property purchased in Gretna fits the needs of Goodwill and the communities we serve,” says Randy Parks, Goodwill’s Chief Operating Officer. “This location will provide a quality shopping and donating experience, while at the same time, allow for opportunities to expand Goodwill’s training programs for people who want to work.”

With the development of the Gretna facility, Goodwill will create 30 new job opportunities.

The winning designers pose with event hosts Mulberry Lane

The second annual Style Proud! event was held Thursday at UNO. Nearly 200 students from Omaha and Millard Public Schools packed the room for a runway show complete with repurposed clothes purchased from Goodwill’s Benson Park Plaza store at 72nd and Ames Avenue.

Style Proud! is a unique event that gives young, aspiring fashion stars the chance to design their own clothes. A group of 30 students came to Goodwill in January and picked out pieces to serve as the base of their outfits. After months of work, the fashions were ready to be displayed.

Models walked the runway in the outfits designed by Omaha North High students, and a panel of judges — including 16 year-old designer Kate Walz and Omaha Fashion Week founder Nick Hudson — watched intently. Musical group Mulberry Lane emceed and treated the crowd to an acapella version of Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop.”

At the event, Goodwill showed what $30 or less could buy you at some of our stores. Dresses, skirts, and shoes were the envy of event attendees. We raffled off a $50 Goodwill gift card to one lucky attendee, who would be able to purchase two full stylish outfits with her winnings. All exhibitors spoke with the students and gave advice about potential careers in fashion.

The crowd cheered as the styled models walked the catwalk. While there were only three winners, all of the students shined bright as their own signature dresses, pants, jackets, and shirts walked down the runway. Congrats to all!