News Briefs
“Dirty Soda” Shop Plans to Open First Nebraska Location in Former Starbucks
Another “dirty soda” shop chain appears to be opening its first location in Nebraska, this time near 72nd & Dodge Street. According to a building permit, Swig plans to take over a former Starbucks coffee shop at 219 South 72nd Street. Swig is the original “dirty soda” shop and was started in St. George, Utah. The dirty soda concept focuses on non-alcoholic beverages, primarily soda, mixed with cream, syrups or fruit. The company has around 150 locations in 16 states. Currently, the closest locations are found in Kansas City, where there are eight. – Isaiah Ang
Renovated Dairy Queen Reopens at 114th & Dodge
Dairy Queen Grill & Chill has reopened at 404 North 114th Street on the southwest corner of 114th & West Dodge Road after extensive renovations. Crews demolished the second floor and roof of the classic, barn-style Dairy Queen building last December. The ice cream shop has been converted into a contemporary, single-story, fast-food restaurant.
Developer to Break Ground Friday on 70-Acre Retail Development
The Lerner Company will break ground Friday on Gretna Crossing, a 70-acre retail development southwest of 192nd & Highway 370. Some site preparation work has already started. The development will have up to 500,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurant and commercial space, while supporting 1,400 permanent jobs. Upon completion, Gretna Crossing is expected to generate an estimated $50 million in combined sales and property tax revenue for the City of Gretna over 10 years.
Featured Project
New Office Building at Avenue One
Construction is expected to be completed by this fall on a 2-story, upscale office building at 19303 South HWS Cleveland Boulevard in the Avenue One Good Life District. A medical clinic will occupy the second floor, according to Kristi Andersen of...
Featured Stories
Bed Bath & Beyond to Combine with The Container Store at Westroads
Bed Bath & Beyond will once again have a brick-and-mortar retail presence in Omaha by combining with The Container Store at Westroads Mall. The Container Store, which has been a junior anchor at Westroads for nine years, is clearing out 30 percent of its existing inventory to make room for Bed Bath & Beyond merchandise, which is expected to arrive in the store early this summer. To liquidate existing merchandise, The Container Store is advertising a “STORE CHANGING” sale, offering discounts and declaring that “almost” everything must go. Bed, Bath & Beyond filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 and closed all its brick-and-mortar stores, including local stores at Village Pointe and at The Shoppes of Aksarben southeast of 72nd & Pacific Street. The retailer was known for selling home goods especially kitchenware and bedding. Though Bed Bath & Beyond closed its physical locations, the brand never truly went away. Its intellectual property was purchased by...
NU Regents Approve Air Transport Training Facility at UNMC
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents yesterday approved next steps for constructing an Infectious Diseases Air Transport Training (IDAT) facility on the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Omaha campus, expanding university’s role in national defense preparedness. The board approved intermediate design review for the free-standing, $17.4 million facility that will extend programs offered by the United States Air Force Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (C-STARS) Omaha Unit stationed at UNMC. The facility also will house air transport modules and an aircraft fuselage for training military health personnel on transporting highly infectious patients from overseas. “The IDAT facility will fill a critical national gap and extend UNMC’s record of partnering with the U.S. Department of War and other federal agencies,” said UNMC interim chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD. “Currently, there is no training facility for biocontainment air transport of infectious...
NDOT Plans to Widen Interstate 680 & Blair High Road in 2029
A major infrastructure project planned for northwest Omaha is designed to bring a decades-old interchange in line with rapid growth in the area, but not without some short-term disruptions for drivers. The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) is preparing for a significant reconstruction of the Interstate 680 corridor between Fort Street and the Blair High Road interchange. According to NDOT District 2 project delivery engineer Damion Stern, the goal is to transform what was once a rural-style highway into a modern, urbanized roadway built to handle today’s traffic demands. “The majority of this project is going to compress the area between Fort Street and Blair High Road,” Stern said. “Right now, it’s a four-lane divided highway and we’re going to more or less reconstruct it and urbanize it.” Plans call for adding a lane in both directions, installing a median barrier, upgrading storm sewer systems and redesigning portions of the interchange. New loop ramps, that are...
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Sports
The April 23rd Sports Report
Creighton baseball completed a season sweep of Omaha with a 15-10 win Wednesday night. The Bluejays jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the top of the third, and Omaha answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to keep the game tight. Creighton then scored...
Visit
Omaha
Berkshire Weekend Draws International Crowd to Omaha Hotels & Restaurants
Every spring, thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders come to Omaha for the company’s annual meeting. This year’s meeting takes place Saturday, May 2, at CHI Health Center Omaha. Organizers expect tens of thousands of visitors from around the world. The weekend...
Omaha
Transportation
Grow Omaha Streetcar Topics: Rail Work Update: Welding & Locating
A rail stick being moved across the Gene Leahy Mall bridge on 10th StreetAnother milestone occurred for the Omaha streetcar project this morning as the first rail sticks were moved from the laydown area to the specific site to be installed in the street. This occurred...
Local
History
The History of Omaha’s Elmwood Park
When Omaha commissioned prominent landscape architect Horace W.S. Cleveland in 1889, the city was still in the early stages of building out its intertwined park and boulevard system. Among the earliest parks were Jefferson Square, which is now a parking…
Non-Profit
News
The April 23rd Non-Profit News
Habitat for Humanity’s Pope Leo Village build project kicked off this weekend as more than 50 Habitat for Humanity of Omaha volunteers, staff, homeowners and guests began construction on the first of 20 homes to be built over the next two years at Habitat Omaha’s...
Grow Omaha
Arts & Culture
The April 23rd Arts & Culture Report
The Astro Amphitheater in La Vista opens their summer season on Thursday, April 23 with the first show Ethel Cain on the Willoughby Tucker Forever Tour, with opener 9million at the venue at 7 p.m. The Astro has 13 outdoor shows announced so far extending into...
Greater Omaha
Chamber
Eaton Expansion Signals Strong Momentum for Greater Omaha
Greater Omaha continues to build momentum as a competitive destination for advanced manufacturing, energy infrastructure, and next-generation industry. Eaton – a global power management company with nearly $25 billion in annual revenue – has announced plans to expand...
New Restaurants
Coming Soon
Tipico Helado
Nebraska Crossing
Anticipated opening May 15
7 Brew Coffee
16901 Polk Street
Construction starting soon
Crisp & Green
16902 Wright Plaza
Now open
Osaka Steakhouse & Sushi Bar
18118 Evans Street
Opening mid-2026
New Retailers
Coming Soon
Trader Joe’s
210 North 191st Street
Construction starting soon
Helzberg Diamonds
2625 South 140th Street
Construction starting soon
Discount Tire
4308 South 130 Street
Under construction
The UPS Store
18870 Oakmont Drive
Now open
Restaurants Closing
Manhattan’s Coffee Deli & Grill
1802 Farnam Street
Closing April 24
Toppers Pizza
741 North 114th Street
Closed
Dolce
12317 West Maple Road
Permanently closed
Benjamin’s Neighborhood Kitchen
3623 North 129th Street
Permanently closed
Retailers Closing
Coco & Charlie’s
Olde Towne Elkhorn
Closing February 25
Family Fare Supermarket
5110 South 108th Street
Closing March 6
Eddie Bauer
Nebraska Crossing
Permanently closed
Found: Vintage Market
6022 Maple Street
Closing soon
Grow Omaha Eats
Salted Edge Blends Waterfront Romance With Bold, Global Flavor
Salted Edge opened in October 2023 and sits on the West Shores Lake waterfront in Waterloo. It’s owned by restaurateurs Greg and Ashley Young along with chef Joel Hassanali, the chief managing partner. It’s one of two restaurants developed by…
Barroco Wine Bar Mixes Old-World Romance & Great Cocktails
Barroco Wine Bar & Craft Cocktails opened in 2020 in Rockbrook, along South 108th Street between West Center Road and Prairie Hills Drive. Husband-and-wife team Tyler and Heather Ray had already begun developing the space when the pandemic hit, pushing their…
Storm Chasers’ Ballpark Food Plays in the Big Leagues
The Omaha Storm Chasers held a media day last week, which included a sampling of new culinary creations for the 2026 baseball season. I was lucky enough to get an invitation, something I wouldn’t willingly pass up. Jennifer and I had the privilege of trying a 2-foot wiener, a new…
Grow Omaha Flicks
Normal Can’t Keep Its Weird Little Town—or Plot—Together
★ ★ Normal stars Bob Odenkirk as small-town sheriff Ulysses Richardson, who temporarily fills the role after the sheriff of Normal, Minn., dies. It’s an action-adventure film that attempts to contrast an absurdly normal, friendly town with Pulp Fiction-type secrets that drive the story toward chaotic violence. Ulysses is just settling into the town as the film starts, taking the lead over his deputies with a cautious approach…
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy Should Have Stayed Buried
★ Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is not the Brendan Fraser action-adventure mummy film many were expecting when the project was first announced. It attempts to create a darker, scarier monster film than the entries that preceded it. While it succeeds at delving into the darker corners of the monster mythology, it ultimately settles for gross-out horror, blood and gore. It offers little else, and the characters’ motivations are as shallow as the plot is illogical…
You, Me & Tuscany Coasts on Charm and Scenery
★ ★ You, Me & Tuscany is a story about a young woman named Anna (Halle Bailey), who dropped out of culinary school two months before graduation when her mother became deathly ill. Understandably, her mom’s death sent her life spiraling out of whack. When we first meet her, she’s at a crossroads. She wants to get her life back on track but has neither the means nor the deep-seated drive to do so. The film begins with Anna begging her friend Claire for a free room at the hotel she manages…
Latest Grow Omaha Shows
Radio Show
The April 25th Radio Show
This week’s Grow Omaha Radio Show covers another active week of growth and development across the Omaha metro. Jeff Beals and Trenton Magid discuss new retail announcements, Eppley Airfield concession updates, the Interstate 680 widening project, Ooh De Lally’s...
Uncut
The April 25th Uncut
This week’s Grow Omaha Uncut covers another busy week of Omaha growth and development. Jeff Beals and Trenton Magid discuss new activity at UNMC, upcoming interstate improvements, Ude Lally’s expanded mission, new Avenue One retailers and Eppley Airfield concession...
Highlights
The April 25th Lightning Round
This week’s Grow Omaha Lightning Round covers several quick-hit retail and development updates around the Omaha metro. Jeff Beals and Trenton Magid discuss a new building permit for Baker’s on West Maple, continued growth along the Maple corridor, Kidlavie’s opening...
