Coffee House

• Use the old-fashioned honor system for guests to pay a nominal price for coffee.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Explore local permit and code requirements for opening a coffee house in an old store. You'll need to formulate a business model and marketing strategy and be willing to invest money in upstart costs. If code requirements and updates make your project financially impossible, but you are lucky enough to own the store, start small and turn it into a "friends and family" coffee house.
  
  Remodel the store as needed to suit your budget. Decorate with vintage finds from flea markets. Use cafe curtains in the windows and create a retro theme for the entire coffee house. Encourage friends and family to help with your endeavor by supplying coffee or supplies at specified intervals. Give your coffee house a theme such as "a gathering venue for camaraderie and fellowship."
  
  

Place of Worship

• Raise funds to give the storefront a worship-themed fascia and roof.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  If you're a fledgling church congregation in need of a place for worship or social gatherings, an old store is an ideal setting to grow your ministry. Depending on the size of your congregation, give members the opportunity to donate to the cause or lend a helping hand. Remodel and outfit the store with accessories to accommodate a specific religion. For example, use pews for a Christian church and pews with kneeling benches for a Catholic church. Opt for movable seating to accommodate space for future church functions.
  
  

Loft Apartment

• Incorporate the store's original walls into your loft decor.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Make a store into a home with everything needed to fulfill the basics for a comfortable dwelling. If the store is already outfitted for plumbing, you're in luck and may only need to add a bathtub or shower and a kitchen sink. Create a loft atmosphere with elevated sleeping quarters overlooking the living space below. Install a climbing ladder similar to those found in hay lofts. Install essentials such as a smoke alarm and carbon detector. Update the electrical elements as needed, and outfit the loft with secure windows and doors if the old ones are easily accessible.
  
  

Personal Workshop

• Hang horizontal bars overhead for easy-reach storage options.Michael Blann/Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  Take your hobby to new heights with the workshop you never knew you needed. Start with a thorough cleaning of the old store to make way for hobby supplies. Choose your favorite colors and decor elements to create an inspiring work space. Hang white-washed pegboard on walls for a cheerful tool-storage option and use wooden crates for holding larger electric tools such as sanders or drills. If you plan on turning your store into a personal auto workshop, hang car grills on the wall. If the shop's walls are concrete or cinder block, hang painter's drop cloths and customize your "walls" with a sprinkled backdrop of colorful paints.