News Briefs
Early Bird Opens Monday at Village Pointe
Early Bird will open its Village Pointe location tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. in the former Paradise Bakery & Café space. The breakfast-and-lunch restaurant has eight locations in Omaha, Lincoln and Des Moines, Iowa. The original location is in the Blackstone District. Early Bird opened a restaurant at 173rd & West Center Road this past fall. Paradise Bakery moved to Nebraska Crossing in Gretna.
HDR Ranked as Number-6 Top Design Firm
HDR is the Number-6 top design firm, according to annual rankings by Engineering News-Record. The list classifies the 500 largest U.S.-based design firms, both publicly and privately held, based on design-specific revenue. It marks the 11th consecutive year the Omaha-based architecture and engineering company has placed in the Top 10. HDR’s 2024 design revenue was reported at $3.4 billion.
Wine & Cocktail Lounge Coming to Dundee
Elleon, an upscale wine and cocktail lounge, will open this summer at 4915 Underwood Avenue in Dundee. Under the same ownership as A Foreign Taste, which closed in July 2024, the lounge will offer “a sophisticated yet welcoming space for wine lovers, cocktail enthusiasts and anyone looking to enjoy life’s finer moments.” Offerings include imported wines, craft cocktails, small plates, sommelier‑led wine sessions and monthly wine‑pairing dinners and tasting events. – Nicole Buntgen
Featured Project

Final Glass Pane Hoisted Over Eppley Terminal Drive
Hawkins Construction Company and Patriot Crane & Rigging recently put the final glass pane in place over Eppley Airfield’s front terminal drive. The $60 million canopy is 825 feet long and covers the entire drop-off and pick-up area with...
Featured Stories

The Root Coworking Opening in The Builders District in June
The Root Coworking, a fast-growing provider of coworking spaces plans to open in North Downtown Omaha. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company will open the Omaha location this June. The Root will occupy two floors of the recently constructed mixed-use building at 1501 Mike Fahey Street in the Builders District. This marks The Root’s fourth location and its second outside of Oklahoma. The expansion into Omaha aligns with the company’s mission to foster vibrant, community-focused workspaces in emerging neighborhoods. “We’ve been eyeing Omaha for a while, and when we were introduced to this opportunity in the Builders District, we knew it was the perfect fit,” said Ben Von Drehle, founder & CEO of The Root Coworking. “The neighborhood is growing fast, it’s walkable, it's packed with energy — everything we look for when choosing a new home for our brand, and our members.” The new location, referred to as “The Root - Builders,” is being developed in partnership with Omaha-based Noddle...

Avenue Scholars Helps Students Reach Their Potential & Build Omaha’s Future Workforce
Avenue Scholars last week celebrated 17 years of equipping Omaha-area students with the tools to succeed in high-demand careers – retaining the city’s next generation of talent. Avenue Scholars Day drew community leaders, employers, educators, and program alumni to highlight the program’s impact. Avenue Scholars supports students, particularly those navigating financial or personal adversity, through high school and into the workforce, offering individualized coaching, career exploration and strong partnerships with nearly 2,000 local employers. To date, the program has served more than 4,000 students and boasts a 97 percent high school graduation rate since 2014. The program’s alumni are living proof of its success. Biye Belew credits Avenue Scholars with helping him find and prepare for a career he is passionate about. "I wake up proudly each day knowing the support I received along my journey helped me find my way to a career that serves the people of Omaha, and allows me...
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Sports

Atlanta Falcons Draft Burke High Grad in 3rd Round
Former Omaha Burke Star Xavier Watts was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft Friday, 96th overall by the Atlanta Falcons. Formerly a four-star, top-100 prospect coming out of high school as a wide receiver, who played at Notre Dame, Watts benefited from...
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Omaha

Bands, Barn Finds and a Boardwalk: Junkstock Returns with a Beachy Twist
One of the Omaha area’s most beloved festivals is back. And this year, it’s bigger, beachier and more buzzworthy. Junkstock, the vintage-fueled maker fair held at Sycamore Farms in West Omaha, returns April 25–27 and May 2–4 with new experiences, record-breaking food...
Omaha
Transportation

Multimodal Transportation Centers
Concept of a Multimodal Transportation Center at the Burlington StationAs cities increase the availability of transportation modes, especially transit and in downtown urban core settings, a common investment is the building of a multimodal transportation center. Such...
Grow Omaha
Arts & Culture

The April 24th Arts & Culture Report
The City of Omaha and the Omaha Parks Foundation have announced the lineup for the annual Memorial Park Concert, happening Friday, June 27. This year’s free event features very special guest Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs and headliner Ringo Starr and His All Starr...
Non-Profit
News

The April 24th Non-Profit News
Livable Omaha and Holy Name Housing are collaborating with FACT, an architect-led UNL design studio to create innovative, small houses aimed at buyers, builders and emerging developers. Two of these home designs are coming to life on a 4,770 sq. ft. residential lot at...
New Restaurants
Coming Soon
Elleon
4915 Underwood Avenue
Opening this summer
The Hollows
5019 Underwood Avenue
Opening June 15
Unity Seafood
7605 Cass Street
Coming soon
Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse
137th & West Dodge Expressway
Opening May 29
New Retailers
Coming Soon
Scissors & Scotch
17211 Evans Street
Now open
Eileen’s Cookies
725 North 210th Street
Opening June 28
ZURCHERS Party + Costumes + Balloons
12979 West Center Road
Now open
Barnes & Noble
Shadow Lake Towne Center
Opening April 9
Restaurants Closing
Johnny’s Sortino’s Pizza
7880 L Street
Closing May 31
Roxxy Omaha
1150 Capitol Avenue
Closed
Curry in a Hurry
8303 Maple Street
Closing March 30
Camille’s Bakery
Countryside Village
Closing March 22
Retailers Closing
Forever 21
Westroads Mall
Closing March 28th
JOANN
13415 West Center Road
Closing this spring
SoftMoc
Westroads Mall
Closed
Walgreen’s
24th & L Street
Closed
Grow Omaha Eats
Meddys Opens Strong in Village Pointe with a Fresh Take on Mediterranean
Alex Harb founded Meddy’s in Wichita, Kan. in 2014. He came from Lebanon to study computer science at Wichita State University and worked at local restaurants when he wasn’t studying. He found himself drawn to the energy of the food industry. After a successful career…
Block 16 is a Downtown Staple Built on Innovation
Paul and Jessica Urban purchased New York Chicken and Gyro in downtown Omaha in 2010 with the intention of converting it to a fine dining restaurant. High costs and limited funding led them to make the best of the existing kitchen. They kept the gyro equipment and...
Twisted Cork Bistro Serves Standout Seafood with Deep Roots and Bold Flavors
The Twisted Cork Bistro originally opened in 2008, founded by Darrell and Laura Auld after moving to Omaha to be closer to family. It started as a small lunch-only bistro with just seven tables. Over time, it grew to include dinner service and expanded with the...
Grow Omaha Flicks
Sinners Takes Its Time—Then Bites Down Hard
★ ★ ★ ★ Sinners is a thought-provoking horror film that takes its time to set up the story, establish the characters and drive an emotional connection to both. The script moves like a freight train—slow at first, then barreling off the rails into bloody chaos. The backdrop of this film, set in 1932 Clarksdale, Miss., is a certain kind of music said to be so powerful…
In The Amateur, Rami Malek Trades Code for Combat in a Solid Spy Thriller
★ ★ ★ ½ The Amateur is a spy thriller starring Rami Malek as Charlie Heller, an expert CIA cryptographer. He’s happily married to Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), who is heading to London for a conference. She begs Charlie to take some time off and join her. “Next time,” he tells her. That’s the last time he sees Sarah alive…
Warfare is a Hard-Hitting, Brutally Real War Film
★ ★ ★ ★ Warfare is an intense film and does its damndest to immerse you in the impossible situation its soldiers find themselves in. The script is written from pieced-together memories of a real-life SEAL team. As such, it’s a hard-hitting, brutal true story. There is no cinematic score. Just hyper-realistic sound design that pulls you right in, grabs you by the throat…