We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Daniel Grabenschroer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Daniel below.
Daniel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
It all started in June of 2017. My brother, Justin, came to visit me after my first deployment in the U.S. Navy. That was the first time I ever got into second-hand clothing. He took me thrifting to buy things for my 500 square foot apartment. I never knew the treasures you could really find at a thrift store because truthfully, I was always embarrassed to have secondhand clothing and other items. Yet over time, it became something I am proud of. Over the next year and a half I started thrifting heavily and collecting the unique items I found. My 500 square foot apartment became overrun by vintage finds. In the beginning of 2019, I started a page on Instagram called the “thethriftdigger” and started selling on my Instagram and to all my navy buddies. With the help of my good friend, Zomari Baker, he put me in touch with his friend that had a brand called “the base company”. In February of 2019, I did my first pop-up with him and never stopped running since then.
Fast forward to 2021, I had just gotten off my 206-day deployment without touching land and moved back to Nebraska in March of 2021. While still being in the Navy as a full-time recruiter, I went to work in my hometown to make a name for myself in the vintage community. Knowing I wanted to open a vintage clothing store, I knew I couldn’t do it alone and eventually found three guys that bought into my idea.
A long time friend, Erick Cortez (local barbershop owner), said yes to collabing with me and opening up his second location and my first. The barbershop / vintage store was brought to life in the summer of 2021. He bought into my ideas and took a major risk, and I’m forever grateful for him. Everyone always asks me, “Why a barbershop?” The truth is when I lived in Virginia, I came across the concept of vintage clothing being sold in a barbershop. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and I wanted to bring it to Nebraska since we had nothing like it here. I took that idea and ran with it, it just flowed so well and I loved the concept of it. You can get a fresh cut then get a fresh unique fit for the weekend. it just made sense. On October 30th, 2021: Great Plains VTG opened up its doors. The first of its kind in the Omaha Metro area.
From the time I came back home, in March of 2021 until October of 2021, I had never worked so hard in my life to put something together like this. I thought at times I was crazy to think this was ever going to work, but I bet on myself and that’s all I needed to do to succeed. Working a full time job: more or less recruiting for the US Navy 45-55 hours a week and trying to accomplish a major dream of mine by opening up a vintage clothing store seemed unattainable, but I made it work. Countless weeks and months of sleepless nights during this time period were beyond me. There were so many moments during that time where I wanted to give up but I didn’t. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy but nothing ever is in life. The hard things in life are worth doing.
I knew this was going to work because I had poured my heart and soul into this passion of mine. It was all or nothing. If the military has taught me anything in my nine and a half years of service, it’s definitely work ethic, discipline, and most importantly punctuality. I knew if I executed these things that the military taught me, I could do whatever I set my mind to. Omaha was longing for a kick-ass vintage clothing store with unique pieces that’s unlike any other. I curated my store to my vision and I knew it was going to stand out amongst others in the midwest.
Within my first year; Great Plains VTG blew up so fast that we had outgrown our area in the barbershop. We eventually went on our own and moved to location in the Old Market in downtown Omaha that next October. In 2023, we became the number 1 spot in Nebraska to buy vintage clothing. It’s crazy to think about it sometimes. I started selling vintage clothes in my 500 square foot apartment to now having two locations in Nebraska, our first store in Omaha and our second location in Lincoln. It’s weird how the world works, but that’s what happens when you bet on yourself and take the risk.
The journey along the way hasn’t been so easy either. In 2022, I had to let go of a co-owner because he was unable to perform and stick to his word, I still think about it often but it was the best for the business at the time. Taylor (co-owner) and I eventually brought a new co-owner (Brad) to the table and it’s been kosher since. I’ve had countless days and nights where I’ve gotten 3-4 hours of sleep because of everything going on in my business with payroll, scheduling, social media content, washing and tagging thousands pieces of clothing, record keeping, inventory, and so much more. I put everything on my plate to a point where it interfered with my mental health and I had to step back, or else I knew the business was going to suffer. I never realized how hard it was going to be as a small business owner. I thought all I had to do was put out sweet gear and the rest would be history. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. The amount of hours and days you put into your craft speaks for itself and I’m a true believer of the mantra, “I am the limit to my own success”.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Daniel Grabenschroer, 27 year old male, born and raised in Omaha, NE. I left Omaha in 2015 to pursue a career in the U.S. Navy. I’ve been in the U.S. Navy for 9 years and 2 months and still currently serve on active duty in Omaha, NE. I have 7 brothers and sisters that are my best friends, biggest supporters, and day ones. Without them, at times, I don’t think Great Plains VTG would be as successful as it is. I owe a lot to each and every one of them. When I moved back to Omaha from Virginia, they helped me when integrate back into the community to do pop-ups and put my name out there.
I got into the vintage clothing community because I found it was a way to express myself and find my unique style. My brother Justin took me to a thrift store in 2017 and I never stopped going since. I first got into vintage furniture, but eventually found my way into vintage clothing. I always remember wearing clothes from fast fashion brands like Target and Urban Outfitters and noticed the poor quality of the clothing. Ever since then, I always bought secondhand clothing because it was always so much better, the quality was unmatchable. I also started to recognize the effects of fast fashion and wanted to stop participating in wearing that kind of clothing. I believe that what you wear says a lot about you.
My business sells anything from 80s – 2000s vintage clothing. Our clothing items include shirts, crewnecks, hoodies, flannels, button ups, jeans, pants, tank tops, jean jackets, varsity jackets, windbreakers, and hats. We sell pretty much any article of clothing you can think of besides underwear and socks, lol. Our collection features a diverse range of categories, including band tees, sports apparel, Harley-Davidson, NASCAR, nature-themed clothing, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Adidas, and cartoon prints. Essentially, we offer the kinds of pieces your parents might have worn in the ’90s, with 85% of our inventory hailing from that iconic decade.
What I think sets my business apart from everyone else doing the same thing is that I care about my community. If you give to the community, the community will give back to you. Authenticity is at the core of my values—I am true to myself and my roots. I sell vintage clothing exclusively in Nebraska, and I price everything according to a Nebraska standard, making it affordable for the great people of this state. While I know I could charge more by selling online or adopting pricing strategies from eBay, LA, NYC, or Chicago, that’s not who I am, and it’s not what my business stands for. I am dedicated to providing an in-store experience that can’t be replicated online, which is why I don’t—and will never—sell online. Although I may lose business by not expanding to the internet, I believe this choice makes my store truly unique and my approach unmatched. For me, money isn’t everything; it’s the connections I make with people who walk through my doors that matter most. There’s no greater feeling than when someone in town tells me how much they love and appreciate my store. In those moments, I know I’m doing something right—something that truly benefits my community.
I would say I’m most proud of not quitting on myself and taking the risk to pursue this dream. I invested every dollar I had into this business without ever taking out a loan or asking for help. Growing up, I didn’t have much, but I think my younger self would be incredibly proud that I didn’t let that hold me back from achieving all of this. It’s easy to let our childhood or background define us early in life, but I was determined not to let that happen to me.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Engaging with the community through pop-ups, monthly giveaways, and making appearances on camera—while staying unapologetically ourselves—that’s the key to our success.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
Earlier this year, in March, I faced one of the toughest challenges in GPV history. We had a large sum of money stolen by our insurance agent, and at the same time, I was struggling with mental health issues. Discovering we were scammed and had lost that much money—without ever being insured—sent me into a downward spiral. Already grappling with my own challenges, I lost control. I began micromanaging every aspect of the business, not allowing anyone, especially my co-owners, to do anything. It reached a point where they were ready to quit because it had become too overwhelming.
I eventually realized the impact of my actions, and it led to a serious conversation where we set boundaries within the business. Our Lincoln store, which was at risk of closing due to all this, just celebrated its one-year anniversary this past weekend on August 24th.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: gpvomaha / gpvlincoln
- Facebook: Great Plains VTG
Image Credits
team photo and personal photo – Justin Grabenschroer