Correction: The headline has been corrected to clarify the amount of chartered organizations

A national veteran organization is planning to come to Erie in the upcoming months.

American Veterans will be opening a thrift store in the Liberty Center Plaza.

New life is being brought to the plaza and just in time for the holiday season.

AMVETS is set to open a thrift store in the Liberty Center Plaza. The national non-profit supports and provides free services for veterans and their families.

“Erie is a market we were looking into. We’ve got several locations in western New York, in the Buffalo area, and Erie just seemed like the logical next step,” said Keith Haley, national thrift store director for AMVETS.

AMVETS was established in 1944 and is one of the only veterans organizations that is chartered by U.S. Congress.

Haley said that this store brings another outlet for veterans to the area along with the VA Hospital.

“Every single penny that is made in that store goes to veterans and their families to assist them locally or nationally,” he said.

The 28,500 square foot space was formerly known as Peebles, then Gordmans. Both were department stores. The suite has been available for a couple of years now.

“With the expansion of the hibachi, and the gymnastics, and Werner Books, and now AMVETS, I think it’s going to be just a part of the community where folks are going to say we want to be there too,” said Sherry Bauer, broker for Sherry Bauer Real Estate Services.

Bauer said shoppers can take advantage of the store’s location due to its centralized placement in the city.

“It’s on a bus route. It’s right in the center of the gateway if you want to go in either direction to upper Peach or if you want to go down into the city where a lot of things are going on as far as new growth there as well. So I think overall this is just going to be a really valuable partner, a really valuable place to shop,” Bauer went on to say.

Bauer said the thrift shop is planning to open some time in December.