Saturday Business Spotlight: ReNew Consignment & Thrift Shop
[November 22, 2025] Inside
the bright, neatly arranged rooms of ReNew Consignment in Lincoln, the
air feels less like a retail shop and more like a community hub—one
built on family, loyalty, affordability, and genuine connection. Owners
Liz Hays and Angie Bossingham, along with long-time employee Chloe
Przykopanski, have created a business that thrives not only on
high-quality resale items but on relationships that feel more like
extended family.
ReNew, now eight years under the care of the sisters, began with a
spontaneous phone call between the two sisters. “And then she [Bossingham]
worked with developmentally disabled adults, and she would take them to
all the thrift stores, and then this one was for sale,” Hays recalled.
“She called me and said, ‘Do you want to buy the thrift store?’ And we
did.”
The business originally belonged to Inner City Mission, but the
transition into new ownership was surprisingly smooth. “They wanted out,
so we basically bought the contents and the name.” Hays said.
From there, the sisters built the store into a full consignment
operation—no donations, no warehouse of unclaimed clothing—just
carefully curated items brought in by local consignors, each stored and
priced under individual accounts.
“Everything in
our store is consignment… every item is individually priced under their
account,” Hays said. “The computer is our saving grace… it’s very
tedious.”
Przykopanski, who manages the shop during the weekdays and runs the
store’s social media, has watched ReNew evolve and expand firsthand.
What started as one small side of the building now spans several rooms
filled with clothing, furniture, décor, and more.
“We’ve gotten so
many more consigners… now we have three huge rooms… with way more
furniture,” Hays explained.
That growth didn’t come without challenges. Rising costs have hit small
businesses everywhere, and ReNew is no exception. Bossingham and Hays
both work full-time jobs—one as a hairdresser and one as a public school
teacher—while still running the store and working in the shop on
weekends.
“I would say small businesses would say the overhead is a lot,
especially in this time in our country… everything is so expensive,”
Hays said. “We’ve had to accommodate with our prices… but we want
everything to still be affordable.”
Affordability isn’t just branding—it’s a mission. “We thrive on making
sure that we have something in a price range for any walk of life,” Hays
said. “From $1.50 [item] to a $900 couch… anybody can come in here and
find something that they can afford and that they love.”
That commitment to accessibility draws a stunningly wide customer base,
from teens hunting for Nikes to older adults browsing weekly. “We have a
woman that’s in her 70s that comes to our store every week… we see all
ages,” Hays said.
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Przykopanski has
watched the shop become a social space as much as a shopping
destination. “Some of our regulars… we see almost every day,” she said.
“Honestly, some of them just say they like to come in and just visit
with me.”
That sense of closeness extends across generations—customers’ children
who once toddled into the shop now return as teens. “You see kids being
raised… we’ve had regular customers that have passed away, that we were
super upset about,” Bossingham added.
Community support moves both ways. Small businesses often quietly weave
themselves into the fabric of the town through generosity most residents
never hear about. The owners donate clothing that can’t be sold—giving
to churches, Springfield organizations, schools, or individuals in need.
Bossingham
remembered a woman who had recently been released from prison: “She
needed some clothes for a job. So I gave her some clothes… to start her
job.”
But they’re quick to clarify one thing: ReNew is not a donation-based
thrift store. “People have a misconception… we are consignment… this
isn’t our stuff. We’re selling it for you,” Bossingham emphasized.
Social media has also become part of the store’s lifeblood. During the
pandemic, ReNew kept doors open virtually through livestreamed “fashion
shows” and curbside pickup. Today, Przykopanski’s TikToks and posts
continue drawing in new customers—sometimes from as far as Chicago.
“It’s reached definitely a younger audience,” she said.
Still, at its heart, ReNew is built on something less tangible but more
enduring: kindness. “We don’t toot our own horns about being kind or
generous… but small businesses are the backbone of every community,”
Bossingham said. “You’d be shocked at how many of them contribute.”
For Hays, the best part of the job is simple: “That I get to do it with
my family… and that we get to make people happy when they find the one
thing they’re looking for.”
In a world where affordability is scarce and corporate chains dominate,
ReNew offers something refreshing—a place where name-brand quality meets
secondhand prices, where owners still know your name, and where
community isn’t a marketing tactic, but a way of life.
[Sophia Larimore]
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