Gretna – A shopping mall that pitched itself as a case study for how to reopen safely welcomed customers last Friday for the first time since closing because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fewer than a dozen customers were at Nebraska Crossing when it opened 11 of its more than 80 stores at 11 a.m. Those who were there wore masks and wandered the open-air mall’s mostly empty pathways, stopping at times to peek into shop windows.

The mall sits next to a busy stretch of Interstate 80 in Gretna, a fast-growing suburb about halfway between Omaha and Lincoln. The opening coincided with other malls in the state allowing customers to return on Friday, including Lincoln’s Gateway Mall and Omaha’s Westroads Mall.

Nebraska Crossing resumed business with safety measures in place, including signs to promote social distancing guidelines and plexiglass barriers in restaurants. All but one of the entrances were taped off. Mall officials said in a Facebook post they were leaving it up to individual stores whether to check customers’ temperatures or turn them away because they weren’t wearing a mask.

Nebraska Crossing officials faced criticism for announcing a decision to reopen before the virus was contained. They have repeatedly held up their outlet as a national model for how to safely reopen shopping centers.

However, when reporters arrived Friday to cover the reopening, a mall employee screamed at them to leave and followed them to their vehicles, saying they were on private property.

Over the weekend, several newspaper reporters and others, including Omaha State Sen. Megan Hunt, said on Twitter they were blocked by the outlet mall’s account, prompting a flurry of critical tweets. By Sunday evening, Nebraska Crossing had deleted its Twitter account.

Customers on Friday said they were apprehensive about coming to the opening, but that they felt safe because it wasn’t crowded.

“I do think it’s a little soon, but it’s kind of slow and there aren’t a lot of people here, so I’m not too worried,” said Jasmine Ramos of Omaha, who was wearing a protective mask.

Tina Jones of Omaha said she came to walk around, enjoy the sunshine and perhaps buy some shoes. Covering her face with a cloth mask, she hoped some of the stores would reopen soon.

“I’ve never been here before and there are no malls open in Omaha,” she said, adding that she has spent most of the past few weeks self-isolating at home.

Nebraska is one of the few states that have allowed malls to remain open throughout the pandemic even though many businesses are closed because the state prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people and has limited restaurants and bars to take out and deliver services. Some of those restrictions were relaxed in the Omaha area on Monday.

Mall officials previously announced plans to hold a “soft opening” a week ago, but they later appeared to backtrack. Store officials also discussed their decision with Gov. Pete Ricketts, who has said they were free to reopen as long as they follow the state’s social-distancing rules.

The Daily Record’s Scott Stewart contributed to this report.