Grow Omaha
News Briefs

Sugared Ledge Bakery has temporarily closed in order to refresh its space and “enhance operations” at 920 North 204th Avenue in the Elkhorn area. The bakery plans to reopen in March with and expanded menu.

Bounce Culture Fitness Studio plans to open in early March at 9735 Giles Road in La Vista. The locally owned boutique fitness studio will offer mini trampoline and barre workouts, which are considered to be low-impact and high-energy.

The Runza restaurant at 965 South 72nd Street has reopened for business. The old building, which many years earlier had been a Bronco’s location, was torn down last summer and replaced with a completely rebuilt restaurant building.

Poke Boba House will close its Old Market location at 510 South 13th Street on February 28, according to an owner announcement on Facebook. The restaurant opened in April 2019 and serves poke, Japanese ramen, and milk teas. – Nicole Buntgen

Mazza Middle Eastern Cuisine plans to open early this summer in the former Sofra Kitchen space at 220 South 31st Avenue in Midtown Crossing. The restaurant will “blend traditional and contemporary Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors.” Mazza will be open for both lunch and dinner and will include a stylish bar, private event space and an outdoor patio.

At its February meeting, the Omaha Streetcar Authority gave notice to begin the vehicle maintenance facility and signed a 30-month lease with the property owner of an undeveloped lot at the northeast corner of 40th & Harney Street to be used as a lay-down site during construction of the streetcar line. Design of the Omaha streetcar system is now 100 percent done and under final review. – Isaiah Ang

Forbes has recognized Mutual of Omaha as one of America’s Best Large Employers for the sixth year in a row. The company ranked #38 overall and had the highest ranking among large employers in Nebraska, as well as the third highest ranking within the insurance industry.

Tipico Helado, a Mexican ice cream concept, plans to open its fourth location later this year in the Old Market. The store will operate in the former Niche space at 1209 Howard Street. Tipico Helado has locations at 15623 West Dodge Road, 5210 South 21st Street and 453 North Main Street in Fremont. The shop offers more than 50 unique flavors, from ice cream bars dipped in coconut flakes to specialty scoops infused with candy, chamoy, tajin and sweet cream.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, the nation’s largest family-owned barbecue chain, closed or sold nearly 100 locations in 2024, leaving only 366 operational nationwide. The chain once had more than 500 locations. Nebraska’s only remaining Dickey’s location is at 12241 West Center Road in Omaha. – Nicole Buntgen

The NU Board of Regents approved a $12 million project to reconstruct the crosswalk across 42nd Street in front UNMC’s Wittson Hall just south of the Dewey Street intersection. It’s the busiest crosswalk on campus. The project is being done in coordination with a MUD project to replace a water main. The pedestrian crosswalk project will remove an existing mid-street island and install a raised traffic table and narrow the traffic lanes. The project is expected to be completed by early 2026. – Isaiah Ang

JOANN, the troubled fabric-and-craft retail chain, is closing its stores at 10521 South 15th Street in Bellevue and 3271 Marketplace Drive in Council Bluffs. The local closings are part of JOANN’s plan to close 500 of its 800 stores nationwide, after the retailer filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in a year. The JOANN store at 13415 West Center Road in Omaha is expected to remain open.

The City of Omaha is reviewing new plans for a portion of the Heartwood Preserve development. Developers are seeking approval of a preliminary plat southwest of 144th & Pacific Street. The multi-use development will be anchored by two medical office buildings totaling 180,000 sq. ft. Additionally, plans show six standalone retail buildings and a 5,500 sq. ft. restaurant. A 2-story, 120,000 sq. ft., mixed-use building on the southwest corner of the site will have ground-floor retail space, a parking garage and multi-family units on the second floor. – Isaiah Ang

Know Good, a concept from the owner of Sweet Magnolias Bake Shop, will open this spring at 3528 Center Street, formerly Sunnyside on Center. The “brunchette” has operated full-time at Archetype Coffee in Little Bohemia since January 2023 and will continue there after opening its new location, which will focus on bagels, sandwiches and a small café menu. – Nicole Buntgen

HomeGoods, Sierra Trading Post and Ross Dress for Less are planning to open at Manawa Power Center in Council Bluffs, according to The Lerner Company, an Omaha-based retail real estate firm. The three national retailers will occupy the former Gordman’s and Toys R Us building near 32nd & Manawa Centre Drive between Wal-Mart and Home Depot. The spaces are now under renovation. HomeGoods, Sierra and Ross have existing locations in Omaha but will be new to Council Bluffs.

Developers are planning a mixed-use subdivision southwest of 192nd & West Maple Road. The Omaha Planning Board approved a preliminary plat that would divide the greenfield site into 12 lots for a commercial development and a 20-acre lot for multifamily development. The multifamily lot was originally planned to be zoned for R8 high-density multifamily, but after a neighborhood meeting, will now be zoned for R7 medium-density multifamily. R7 zoning limits density to approximately 40 units per acre. – Isaiah Ang

Krush Ultra Lounge, formerly Throwback Arcade Lounge, is facing the potential cancellation of its liquor license at 1402 Howard Street downtown. The Omaha City Council voted 6-0 to recommend revocation following multiple police incidents, including fights and a shooting. The final decision rests with the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. Krush plans to appeal. – Nicole Buntgen

Noli’s Pizzeria will close its Regency location inside Blue Sky Bar & Patio at 10730 Pacific Street on February 16. The New York-style pizza concept will continue operating at its Aksarben location at 6307 Center Street and Blackstone at 4001 Farnam Street. – Nicole Buntgen

The University of Nebraska at Omaha will join Creighton University as official co-host of the NCAA Men’s College World Series starting this year. UNO Chancellor Joanne Li said, “This partnership enhances our national visibility, strengthens UNO’s reputation as a leading metropolitan university, and most importantly, gives our Mavericks unique teaching, learning and research opportunities.” The college baseball season begins Friday, February 14th. The 2025 College World Series begins June 13th at Charles Schwab Field Omaha – Cole Young

Due to forecasts for snow Saturday and Monday, the demolition of the Harney Street bridge over Interstate 480 has been postponed, according to the City of Omaha. I-480 was scheduled to close Friday, February 14 at 9 p.m. and reopen by 6 a.m. Monday February 17. A new date has not been announced yet.

The University of Nebraska announced this week that it generates $6.4 billion annually and supports one in every 20 Nebraska jobs. NU produces 11,000 graduates annually, with one in seven working-age Nebraskans holding a degree from the university. NU alumni generate $3.5 billion in additional earnings each year. If you add UNMC’s clinical partner Nebraska Medicine, NU’s total economic impact rises to $11.9 billion.