By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
Astra Bank relocated from downtown Hays to a newly built location to better serve its customers.
The Chamber in Hays held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday to celebrate the opening with Jason Kennedy, Astra Bank market president, and the CEO of Astra Bank, Kyle Campbell.
"We truly believe as a family-owned community bank that we should invest in the community because we're never going to be more successful than the communities we serve," Campbell said.
Astra Bank’s new location, 2605 Main St., features better accessibility, wider drive-through lanes and increased personal interaction with customers. Kennedy said the relocation idea began during a casual conversation with Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays, and the city.
"It was kind of off-handed when the city was looking at the police station. I said 'Why don't you guys buy my building? Let's do a swap and we'll develop on that lot," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said the relocation arrangement saved the city taxpayers' money. The former Astra Bank building at 1100 Fort will be repurposed as a new police and municipal court facility.
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Kennedy emphasized that the bank serves as a commercial and community bank, supporting agriculture, local businesses and civic projects.
"Anything you can find at any other bank, we do here as well. We just do it better," Kennedy said.
The bank opened its new location on Aug. 18. To celebrate, Astra Bank is offering a 10% three-month CD, limited to one per household, available from Sept. 12 to 19 for the first 100 households.
Kennedy said Astra Bank kept operations running without interruption during the move, continuing to serve customers.
"My staff was not just patient. They were phenomenal," he said.
The bank lobby is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the drive-through is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
You can follow Astra Bank on Facebook and visit their website here.