Grow Omaha
News Briefs

Con Azúcar Café is planning another Omaha location. The California-based coffee chain will open early next year in a 2,000 sq. ft. space at Stockyards Plaza near 33rd & L Street. The local franchisees also own Omaha’s Isla del Mar restaurants and are in the process of opening La Chime, an ice cream shop also in Stockyards Plaza. Con Azúcar Café has existing locations in the Old Market and inside Isla del Mar at 2502 South 133rd Plaza.

A ribbon cutting is scheduled for December 15 to celebrate 7 Brew Coffee’s new drive-thru stand at 18236 Evans Street near 182nd & West Maple Road. The Arkansas-based chain is opening its first Omaha location, joining existing Nebraska shops in Fremont, Lincoln, Grand Island, Norfolk, Kearney, North Platte and York. - Nicole Buntgen

Boys Town will hold a groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow afternoon, marking the start of a $300 million, 254,000 sq. ft. expansion of Boys Town National Research Hospital’s West Campus northeast of 144th & Pacific Street. The project – funded in part by a major gift from the Ryan Family Foundation – will add hospital beds, surgical suites and research space, allowing Boys Town to care for more patients, grow its medical staff and unite research and clinical care in one location.

Omaha Public Power District hauled a 225-megawatt combustion turbine last night from a Gretna rail siding to its Turtle Creek power station at 168th & Fairview Road in Sarpy County. The natural gas turbine will help OPPD meet increasing energy demands. The 35-foot-long turbine weighs 560,000 pounds – equivalent to a Boeing 787 airplane at maximum capacity. It was built over the course of 20 months in Berlin, Germany, and traveled by barge to Houston and then by rail to Gretna, arriving last week.

Image Studios plans to open near 84th & Barmettler Drive in Suite C of La Vista’s City Centre. The business will offer salon suites to be rented by independent beauty professionals. Build-out is currently underway in the 5,000 sq. ft. space, according to Perkins-Critser Construction. Completion is planned for the end of this year.

Baird Holm LLP has opened an office in downtown Lincoln at 301 South 13th Street. Headquartered in Omaha’s WoodmenLife Tower, Baird Holm is Nebraska’s oldest and largest continuously operating law firm. The office will provide the same legal services as the Omaha headquarters, including estate planning, corporate law, labor and employment, healthcare and real estate.

A building permit application was filed on November 3 for Don & Millie’s at 18110 Wright Street, one of Zio’s Pizzeria’s current locations, suggesting the burger chain plans to take over the pizza space. Neither business has confirmed a timeline. Zio’s was founded in 1985 and has three other Omaha locations. Don & Millie’s is an employee-owned regional chain with several Omaha-area locations. - Nicole Buntgen

Golf Galaxy plans to open a store at 12204 K Plaza in the former Buy Buy Baby space at L Street Marketplace. Interior build-out is now underway inside the 25,000 sq. ft. space between Ross Dress for Less and World Market. Golf Galaxy is a retail store with indoor golf practice space. Its current location is in the Oak View Mall area at 3425 Oak View Drive.

La Chime plans to open by the end of this year at 33rd & L Street. The locally owned ice cream shop will operate in a 1,600 sq. ft. space in Stockyards Plaza next to DaVita Dialysis, according to Perkins-Critser Construction which is building out the space. The local franchisees are the same people who own Isla del Mar.

Colette’s Mercato, a concept from the owners of Dirty Birds, will open at 500 South 18th Street downtown. The scratch sandwich shop will specialize in Italian sandwiches, retail wine and beer, plus house-made bread and cured meats. Anticipated opening is spring 2026. - Nicole Buntgen

Holy Name Housing Corporation is building a small, infill residential project, called Tukey Heights at 36th & Saratoga Street that will bring needed low-income housing options. The development site is bounded by 36th, 37th and Saratoga streets as well as Sorenson Parkway. The site will be subdivided into 35 lots with a variety of for-sale housing options including single-family detached homes, row houses and duplexes. The property also incorporates paving Brown Street and building a neighborhood park space. - Isaiah Ang

Valvoline Instant Oil Change locations are planned for 192nd & West Center Road and 72nd & Crown Pointe Avenue in Sorenson Park Plaza. The southwest location will be in a 1,700 sq. ft., one-story building. The developer also intends to build a 1,300 sq. ft., one-story, multi-tenant commercial building on the same 1.17-acre site. The Sorenson Park Plaza location will neighbor Golden Coral Buffett and Taco Bell. That site is .95 acres and will have a 3-bay, 1,800 sq. ft., one-story building. - Isaiah Ang

Omaha Children’s Museum announced today that it is pausing the capital campaign that would have funded a new building at 8th & Douglas Street. The museum will remain at its current location at 500 South 20th Street. Board president Dana Washington said the museum would revisit expansion plans “when the time is right.” The museum announced in October 2024 that it would build a 4-story, state-of-the-art facility on the north side of Heartland of America Park designed by internationally renowned architecture firm Snøhetta. It was scheduled to open in 2027.

Les Schwab Tire Center plans to build a store in the Iron Bluff mixed-use development southwest of 204th & F Street. The Omaha Planning Board this week approved the amendment to the mixed-use agreement to allow for auto repair services. This Les Schwab store will be located on a 1-acre lot and will consist of a 9.775 sq. ft., one-story building with seven services bays. - Isaiah Ang

U-Haul Co. of Nebraska announced that Expressway Detail, LLC, a local car wash and detail company, signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer. The company is located at 4501 Florence Boulevard and will offer U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment and moving supplies.

Fifth House, a start-up vegan restaurant, opened October 31 in the former Get Real Sandwiches space at 3901 Farnam Street in Blackstone District. The restaurant’s tagline, “the vegan joint of your dreams,” introduces a refreshed concept from the owners of Modern Love, which closed in December 2024. – Nicole Buntgen

A light industrial project is underway in South Omaha. The Omaha Planning Board approved a Tax Increment Financing application for El Toro Plaza, a 5-acre redevelopment area southeast of 25th & Z Street. The site had been an eye sore for many years. The developer, Ryan Sell, plans to build a 32,000 sq. ft., light industrial building, which will have warehousing, office and manufacturing space. The $10.3 million project is expected to come online at the end of 2026. – Isaiah Ang

Gyro Kings opened its second location on November 3 at 2211 Capehart Road in the former Sina Way space  in Bellevue. The Mediterranean-European fusion restaurant’s original location at 632 North Saddle Creek Road opened in October 2023. - Nicole Buntgen

Another indoor golf franchise is coming to Omaha. Tee Box will open its first location outside the mountain west in Miracle Hills Plaza, joining Funny Bone, Draftcade and Hawaiian Bros Island Grill in the revitalized shopping center at 114th & West Dodge Road. Tee Box will open early next year in a 4,000 sq. ft. space north of Funny Bone. Tee Box combines state-of-the-art technology and weight training to improve golf skills all year round. The Utah-based company has 10 locations in Utah and Idaho. – Isaiah Ang

Vino Mas will open a second location in the Shops of Legacy at 2835 South 170th Plaza in the former Cellar 44 space. Opening is planned mid-November. Vino Mas is a boutique wine shop with a current location at 14450 Eagle Run Drive. In addition to a wide range of retail wines, Vino Mas has a wine bar and hosts a weekly music series and various wine tasting events.