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(CNN) - Erika Contreras still trembles every time she passes near the Walmart in El Paso where an assailant shot 22 people during the summer.
Sometimes, she and her 70-year-old mother can't hold back tears, but they know they can't stay away forever.
"I know he will feel uncomfortable, but the need is what brings you there," said Contreras, 29, who was buying supplies for back to school when he fled the shooting and chaos of the massacre.
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Three months after an armed man who did not hide his hatred of Mexicans and Mexican Americans entered the store, both Walmart and the resilient community are trying to find a new normal.
For some residents, it is time to put aside their fear and return to a store so vital to their lives. Meanwhile, the employees returned in silence, fighting to get the tragedy out of their minds as they prepared for the reopening.
Eventually they found themselves laughing again and encouraging each other.
On Thursday, amid hugs, smiles and possibly tears, shoppers and workers will meet, another step in the long healing process.
After extensive renovation, the Walmart No. 2201 store near the Cielo Vista shopping center will reopen at 9 am (local time), minutes after the American flag is raised and a sign with the message #ElPasoStrong is placed on the Store front.
The changes in the store have been visible since the beginning of this week. The white crosses in honor of the 22 victims, banners and flowers in the makeshift tribute that blocks the street behind the store have been relocated. A series of new security cameras were installed on the roof of the store and the 1.8-meter green fence surrounding the building and its parking lot were removed.
But they are only the external signals of the numerous changes. When El Paso residents enter the store for the first time since August 3, they will immediately notice that almost all features appear new, including bright concrete floors and an expanded self-paying area. Even shopping carts have changed: they now have orange handles, instead of blue ones.
One of the biggest changes in the store is the automated security doors installed beyond the glass doors at the two store entrances. Customers will now have to go through a payment line to leave the store. Walmart began installing this type of security door in stores across the country before the shooting, said Delia Garcia, the company's senior communications director.
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But even with all the changes in the store in the bustling shopping complex in the center of this border city, some things will remain. Anyone who enters this Walmart will still say immediately that he is in El Paso.
Families will speak in both Spanish and English. The parking lot will be full of vehicles with license plates from Texas and Mexico. The aisles of the grocery store will display boxes of canned macaroni with cheese and canned jalapeños and Mexican hot chocolate.
Heal after saving lives
A fleet of workers with their navy blue vests has been working for about a month assembling shelves, hanging clothes and placing toiletries and food.
When employees returned to the store, the building was completely empty as workers finished major renovations.
“Well, I can tell you that entering the store… was a bit intimidating. Many emotions found, ”store manager Robert Evans told CNN. “And through this process of rebuilding and remodeling the store, you can see the laughs, smiles and applause between them and support. That is what really makes a good recovery. ”
Evans was born in El Paso and was standing by one of the store's two entrances, checking emails on his phone, when the shooting began on August 3. He saw a person fall into the parking lot and one who died between the two doors of the Walmart.
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Evans entered the store, shouted that there was an attacker and announced a Brown Code on the store's radio. He led people to the back of the store, pointing to the doors and telling people to go out and run to the nearby mall. He tried to make people use different routes, so as not to obstruct exits.
Working in the store over the past month has helped Evans recover from the trauma, especially because he sees it as his "home away from home."
"Seeing familiar faces and working together for a cause, which are our customers, is a great blessing and helped me recover," Evans said of the approximately 400 store employees.
Most of the employees who worked at the Cielo Vista store at the time of the shooting will continue their work.
While some decided to move to other places or leave the company, Walmart still employs almost everyone in a certain capacity, said Garcia, the Walmart spokeswoman.
"It's very powerful to see your commitment to the community," he said.
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