A Hastings ice cream shop will soon be the the only business west of Omaha to hire a staff that makes people with disabilities a priority hire.

The future "Special Scoops," 237 N. St. Joseph Ave., is currently under renovation. They still need to put in tile, redo the walls and install solid ceiling panels.

Donna Bieck is the creator of Special Scoops. Her 17-year-old grandson, who has autism and intellectual disabilities, was her inspiration.

"I want to know when my 17 year old hits 21, he has a place he can go and work. If he still wants to work there when he's 40, it's still there. That's my dream for this store," Bieck said.

Special Scoops will be home to 20 employees with special needs. Bieck said they also want to hire a general manager and shift supervisors without special needs to oversee operations.

The point is to give people with special needs a place to work, and give them a sense of belonging.

Sandi Herbek-Rasser is an instructor at Mid-Nebraska, which is right next to Special Scoops. Her daughter is 22 and has intellectual disabilities. She said right now, she mostly just stays at home. That's why she's excited at the possibility of her daughter being hired at Special Scoops.

"With her being high functioning, she can do a lot of the jobs here. She can sweep. She can mop. Even though she chooses not to do it at home. She can scoop, and she gets along with people. I think this will be a wonderful opportunity for her," Herbek-Rasser said.

Mosaic is another organization that works with people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities. They serve about 190 clients in Central Nebraska.

Jeff Kingsley, the community relations officer at Mosaic, said they do see some of their clients turned away from jobs because of their disabilities.

"Individuals with disabilities in general want to give back to the communities and be apart of the community just as much as you or I. To have a whole business that's dedicated to making that happen, I think is so great for Hastings as a community," Kingsley said.

Special Scoops will have 30 flavors of hard ice cream in their shop. They'll serve eight flavors at a time, and have a flavor of the month. All the ice cream will be pre-made.

They'll also have a soda fountain, and will serve root beer floats, sundaes and malts. Bieck said she hopes it'll have an old fashion feel to it.

"I can't wait to see it open, and for this to be a place that Hastings can really be proud of," Bieck said.

Special Scoops will open its doors on September 1.

Bieck will be at the shop to take applications from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday this week and next. She said she'd like to have them all in by August 10.

They're also taking donations to help them open up in time. Bieck said they still need about $2,200 to reach their goal of $10,000.

For every $100 someone donates, they'll receive a $10 "Scoop Card."

If you'd like to make a donation, you can do so at Five Points Bank, or send it to P.O. Box 112, Trumbull, Ne. 68980.