Grow Omaha
News Briefs

Gunderson’s Jewelers has opened its store at 102 North 145th Street in Heartwood Preserve. The 25,000 sq. ft. store is in a newly constructed building west of Charleston’s steakhouse in Heartwood Preserve. The Sioux City, Iowa-based retailer relocated the store from Village Pointe Shopping Center.

The Omaha City Council approved an ordinance allowing the city to purchase land for the Beltline Trail Project in North Omaha. The project is led by the Papio-Missouri River NRD. The phased project will eventually have a trailhead at Military Avenue & Hamilton Street and create a multimodal corridor north to the Metro North Omaha Transit Center. There the Beltline Trail will connect with the North Omaha Trail. The ordinance grants authority to the city to negotiate with property owners along Phase 3 of the project. If needed, the city is authorized to initiate condemnation actions to acquire the needed land. – Isaiah Ang

A company named Wukong Restaurant has registered with the state of Nebraska to open at 2571 South 177th Plaza, in the former Koko’s Korean Fried Chikin space near Super Target off 180th & West Center Road. The restaurant will serve hotpot, hibachi, poke bowls and desserts, with a tentative opening set for November.

Mouth of the South, a local Southern and Cajun cuisine restaurant, has suddenly closed its Old Market location at 1111 Harney Street. The west Omaha location at 16909 Lakeside Hills Plaza, near 168th & West Center Road, will remain open. The restaurant recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. – Nicole Buntgen

Crispy Burger has opened next to Freezing Rolled Ice Cream at 1918 South 67th Street in Aksarben Village. While the restaurant serves burgers, it’s better known for its Asian fried chicken. This is the first location in the Midwest. All other Crispy Burger locations are in New York, Vermont and Virginia. According to the local owner, Crispy Burger is known for “its secret recipe featuring the crunchiest fried chicken in the world, a secret pickle flavor, crispy skin and tender, juicy meat.”

Izzy’s Pizza has pulled out of opening its second location at 2500 South 120th Street, which was set to open this fall, connected to the new Prehistoric Putt at Bel Air Plaza. Izzy’s plans to focus on its downtown spot at 522 South 24th Street and its mobile pizza bus.

Omaha is the seventh most competitive apartment rental market in America, according to the New York Times. A recent study ranked 137 U.S. rental markets based on competitiveness across five metrics. In Omaha, an average of 13 prospective renters compete for each available rental unit. Here are the top 10 markets: 1. Suburban Chicago; 2. Miami-Dade County; 3. Milwaukee; 4. Bridgeport-New Haven; 5. Chicago; 6. North Jersey; 7. Omaha; 8. Suburban Philadelphia; 9. Manhattan, N.Y.; 10. Brooklyn, N.Y.

Jones Bros Cupcakes has closed its Aksarben Village location. The Westroads mall location will remain open, and the business will continue offering its our full catering menu. On its Facebook page, Jones Bros says it is planning to open a yet-to-be-announced new location in late 2025.

Grace Pizza & Shakes has opened its first Nebraska location in downtown Papillion at 136 North Jefferson Street, inside the original 1875 county courthouse. The restaurant, which also has locations in Texas and Florida, specializes in coal-fired pizza and “over-the-top” milkshakes. – Nicole Buntgen

GreenSlate Management announced that the 37 West Farnam Building under construction in the Blackstone District is set to open next spring. The company is now offering hard-had tours to prospective apartment renters. The 9-story building sits prominently along the south side of Farnam Street just west of the Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel. The building will have street-level retail space, a parking garage open to the public and several floors of apartments.

A new industrial user is planning to utilize the former Scoular Grain and A&R Salvage property along the east side of Interstate 480. The 23-acre site is northeast of 28th & Deer Park Boulevard. In 2021, a developer announced ambitious plans to build “The Intersections,” a wellness and recreational center with a $100 million price tag. In 2022, the developer formally announced the project was not moving forward. The site is now planned to be the future location of Crushin’-IT, a concrete recycling business. Omaha Planning Board will review an application for a final plat of the property. – Isaiah Ang

The City of Omaha plans to build a 600-stall parking garage at Millwork Commons. The city council approved a resolution on consent agenda to allow for the project to be delivered by a construction manager at risk. The parking garage will be located just east of the Ashton building on a parcel bounded by 11th, 12th and Nicholas streets and Millwork Avenue. The estimated cost is $25 to $30 million. – Isaiah Ang

Sensory Suite Spot, Omaha’s first ability-inclusive hair salon, recently opened at 14216 Pierce Plaza just off 144th & Pacific Street in west Omaha. The salon suite caters to all abilities, with hair stylists specializing in sensory cuts. A ribbon cutting will take place on August 27th. – Nicole Buntgen

Playful Pines indoor play park opened July 20th at 7051 South 181st Street. That’s just southwest of 180th & Harrison Street. The locally owned business offers two-hour, limited capacity play sessions for children age 7 and younger. Parents can sign up for a play session at PlayfulPines.com.

Snowy Sundaes, a family-owned dessert shop, opened last week in Benson at 6015 Maple Street next to Ted & Wally’s. The shop specializes in Bingsu, a Korean-style shaved ice, and also offers bubble tea, takoyaki (a Japanese octopus snack), croffles (a croissant-waffle hybrid), and specialty “ice-cool” hotpot desserts available for dine-in. - Nicole Buntgen

The City of Omaha Public Works department estimates curbside collection of storm debris is now at about 37 percent complete. That's up from 22 percent last Monday. Al Veys Field at 6606 South 60th Street, will be open indefinitely for debris drop-off seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The other park locations have closed.

The Dandy Lion, an upscale bar and lounge, opened earlier this month at 15475 Ruggles Street northeast of 156th & West Maple Road and next to Porky Butts. The business renovated the former Retro Rewind space and opens daily at noon. – Nicole Buntgen

The $2.6 million Platte River pedestrian bridge opened in early August connecting Sarpy County and Cass County. The bridge runs adjacent to Highway 34/75 and connects Allied Road on the north side of the river near Falconwood Park to Beach Road on the south. The bridge trail is only pedestrian/bike crossing over the Platte River aside from the Lied Platte River Bridge nearly 16 miles west. – Isaiah Ang

Hay Jay Coffee, a drive-thru coffee shop, closed its Midtown location at 1416 North Saddle Creek Road yesterday. The business is moving to Bennington at 8001 North 157th Street Suite 101, where it will introduce an updated concept featuring a full coffee and café restaurant. An official opening date has yet to be announced. – Nicole Buntgen

United Republic Bank started construction in mid-July on a branch office building at 12751 South 216th Plaza in Gretna. That’s on the northwest corner of Highway 6/31 & Capehart Road. When the building is complete next spring, it will be the bank’s second location. The main office is at 180th & Burke Street west of Village Pointe. Turner Construction is the general contractor, TACKarchitects did the design.