Grow Omaha
News Briefs

A fundraiser led by Warren Buffett and shareholders as part of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting has raised $1.3 million for The Stephen Center. Buffett signed 20 copies of the new book 60 Years of Berkshire Hathaway, which were auctioned off to the highest bidders. Buffett then matched the final dollar amount raised in the auction. The money will help The Stephen Center fund a new substance abuse treatment center and a housing facility for women and children. – Mark Champion

Exterior signage is in place, and most of the interior build-out has been completed for the relocated Funny Bone Comedy Club, which will open soon in Miracle Hills. The 16,270 sq. ft. space will also include Draft Cade, and arcade bar and restaurant with existing locations in Kansas City; Toledo, Ohio; and Richmond, Va. Funny Bone is moving from Village Pointe. The comedy club has 15 locations in eight states.

NAI NP Dodge has listed several lots for sale in Bellevue’s Good Life District at the interchange of Highways 75 & 34. Four shovel-ready, commercial lots from 6.73 to 32.65 acres are now available in the mixed-use development. The 575-acre Good Life District is anchored by Bellevue Bay, a 100,000 sq. ft. water park now under construction. When it opens in 2027, it will be the fourth-largest indoor water park in the nation with 600,000 visitors annually.

Wingstop, a quick-serve restaurant that sells Buffalo wings, plans to open a new store in a Cricket Wireless building at 365 Saddle Creek Road, according to Dave Critser of Perkins-Critser Construction, which is renovating the space. Cricket will move to the back half of the building, while Wingstop will take the front part. Construction begins later this month. Wingstop has nine existing Omaha locations.

Retail Rebel, a discount shopping retailer, will soon open its first Nebraska location at 8005 Blondo Street in Omaha. The store features two components—The Bins, a warehouse of hand-picked items sold at flat rates that drop daily, and The Auctions, a virtual platform where shoppers can bid on select items. Retail Rebel operates additional stores in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and soon Georgia. - Nicole Buntgen

Omaha by Design is bringing something new to the Riverfront. From June to October, visitors can tour an Accessory Dwelling Unit, or ADU, at Heartland of America Park. The ADU is currently under construction just north of the Skate Ribbon. The City of Omaha has expanded zoning regulations to allow ADU’s in more areas, including recently passing an amendment to allow them in agricultural zoned areas. ADUs create additional housing on single-family lots. Designed by Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, the Heartland Park ADU is a 600 sq. ft., one-bedroom, one-bathroom concept with two patios. – Isaiah Ang

Westroads Mall will see some big changes, according to final plat documents reviewed by the Omaha Planning Board last week. The 174,000 sq. ft. west anchor building, previously a Younkers department store, will see a 32,000 sq. ft., two-story expansion. According to the plat documents, the former Granite City building will be demolished and will be replaced with additional parking spaces. - Isaiah Ang

RAEVA Mane Street Oasis, an eight-chair, booth-rental salon, plans to open in Olde Towne Elkhorn this June. The salon will operate in a recently constructed building at 2625 North Main Street on the second floor above the soon-to-open Coneflower Creamery. The owner is Lindsay Karella, a seasoned hairstylist and Elkhorn native.

Mouth of the South, a local Southern and Cajun-inspired restaurant, is now fully back under the ownership of founder Ryan Ernst. A 2017 fire destroyed its original location at 8505 North 30th Street in Florence, leading to changes in location and ownership structure. Ernst said the business has now “returned to the concept that started it all,” with a renewed focus on community, hospitality and Southern flavors. The restaurant continues to operate at 16909 Lakeside Hills Plaza. – Nicole Buntgen

The first-ever Aksarben Crit is coming to Aksarben Village Saturday, May 17. For the layperson, a “crit,” or “criterium,” is a bicycle race of a specified number of laps on a closed course over public roads closed to normal traffic. The event will begin near Baxter Arena at 3 p.m. with the Men’s Open. Then, a new race will start for different divisions at the top of each hour before the final event of the night at 8:15 p.m. for the Men’s Professional. Admission is free. – Cole Young

The Stamina Bar, Omaha’s first video game-themed energy bar, will open at 8713 Shamrock Road in Countryside Village. The bar is an extension of The Gamers Oasis—a video game store located just next door—and will serve energy drink-infused smoothies and beverages. A tentative opening date is set for September 1. - Nicole Buntgen

Omaha is the fourth best mid-sized metro area in America for working moms in 2025, according to CoworkingCafe. The rankings were developed using 15 metrics such as the share of employed moms, childcare accessibility and affordability, work-from-home and self-employment rates, access to pediatricians, income and more.

Right at Home, an Omaha-based, in-home caregiving franchise with more than 750 locations worldwide, is celebrating its 30th anniversary during its annual conference this week at the CHI Health Center. More than 600 Right at Home national and international franchisees, office staff and corporate staff are attending.

Dunham House broke ground Tuesday on a 40-acre site in north Omaha for a first-of-its-kind, transformational housing initiative meant to serve combat-wounded veterans in need of long-term residential-centered care. Dunham House is being developed in collaboration with Omaha-based nonprofit Wounded Warriors Family Support. When the single-story, 27,500 sq. ft. building opens in July 2026, Dunham House will house 30 veterans who require supportive care yet seek to maintain independence. – Mark Champion

Big Grove Brewery is just weeks away from opening its first Nebraska taproom in the recently completed Catalyst building on the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s EDGE District campus. The building was historically a steel mill. Big Grove Brewery has been working to fill 100 full- and part-time jobs this week. Big Grove started in 2013 in Solon, Iowa, and now has locations in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, Iowa.

GreenState Credit Union will open a second Omaha branch at the northwest corner of 204th & Harrison Street in the Coventry development, near the recently opened Taco Bell. The Iowa-based credit union is also preparing to open its first Omaha location near 180th & West Maple Road. GreenState operates nearly 30 branches across Iowa, Illinois, and the Chicago area. GreenState was previously known as University of Iowa Community Credit Union. - Nicole Buntgen

Darland recently completed an office remodel for DMSi software at 11650 Miracle Hills Drive. This renovation involved the removal of a section of the upper floor, creating an open, two-story area with a 'floating' conference room. A custom staircase was constructed to anchor the two spaces. The project included the creation of a work café with various seating options, interactive games and beer taps. Founded in 1976 by Omaha's Baum Iron to create an inventory system, DMSi quickly pivoted to serve others in the building products industry.

Baker’s plans to build a $40 million Baker’s Marketplace grocery store northwest of 204th & Q Street. At 123,000 sq. ft., this Baker’s Marketplace will be approximately 55,000 sq. ft. larger than traditional Baker’s stores. The property will include a Baker’s fuel center and space for future development. The store will employ more than 300 people. Groundbreaking is scheduled for this summer. Completion would likely be in 2026, but Baker’s will release the official construction timeline later.

The previously reported plans to redevelop the Dodge Riverside Golf Club hit a snag last night. In April, the City of Council Bluffs released plans to redevelop the golf course into a mixed-use development with up to 3,900 residential units. While the plan was merely conceptual, it was intended to identify the potential redevelopment ahead of a vote to make the property surplus and initiate the process of possibly selling the property to a developer. In a 3-2 vote, the city council rejected the motion to make the golf course surplus property. Future proposals could be considered, but efforts to sell the property have been thwarted. – Isaiah Ang

Clarkson College plans to install a large digital board on its main building at 42nd & Dodge Street. Plans call for a 4-story scrim on the northwest corner of the building. On top of it would be the college’s logo and the vertical digital board, wrapping around the corner of the building. The digital board will display information about healthcare with a goal to attract more students to healthcare careers. The college plans several other renovations, including a new entrance and welcome center.