The June 18th Weekly Market Report

Nicole Buntgen, Contributing Writer

Mercredi Market plans to open June 24th at 509 South 11th Street in the Old Market. Locally owned by Nathan Ma, Mercredi Market will be a restaurant/store, offering sandwiches, soups, salads and a coffee program. The space is directly north of La Buvette Wine & Grocery and was most recently occupied by a delicatessen.

There There, an all-day café, wine bar and market, is slated to open this August at 3020 Leavenworth Street in the former Bubbly Tart space. The cafe will focus on European small plates, baked goods and “low-intervention” wines along with a selection of grocery goods. There There will be a local creation owned by Katina Talley of Know Good Eats and Sweet Magnolia’s as well as Ivy Sutton, owner of Idle Wine Bar & Bottle Shop.

OCookieOs has opened its first brick-and-mortar location at 2575 South 171st Court in Lakeside Hills Plaza. The space was formerly home to Café Botanica and is between Hertz Car Rental and Raavis Tea. OCookieOs sells gluten-free, high-protein “cookie-donuts” made of with almond and coconut flour. The shop is open Monday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Construction has started on a Panda Express restaurant at 4815 South 205th Street in the Kensington Park development northwest of 204th & Q Street. The 2,741 sq. ft. restaurant building with drive-thru is going up north of an existing Scooter’s Coffee building and northeast of the future Bakers Marketplace store, which will open later this year.

The Academy Sports Bar has opened in the recently completed NOVA Apartments building at 12th & Nicholas Street in Millwork Commons. The 4,000 sq. ft. bar is on the ground level of the 5-story building, which has 74 apartment units on the upper floors. The sports is located just north of Charles Schwab Field and opened in time for the 2026 College World Series.

The Good Life Sports Bar & Grill opened a North Downtown location this past Thursday, just in time for the College World Series at nearby Charles Schwab Field. The new Good Life is located in a 7,258 sq. ft. space on the southeast corner of a 4-story, mixed-use building at 1501 Mike Fahey Street. The locally owned sports bar now has six locations in Omaha, Papillion and Gretna.

Hy-Vee plans extensive interior renovations for its store at 17810 Welch Plaza, which is northeast of 180th & Q Street. According to the building permit, the international kitchen and pharmacy are being renovated, the Starbucks is being relocated within the store, a “sweet shop” department is being added, and there will be an updated customer service counter and floral shop at the front of the store.

A Cut Above Fabric opened for business on June 11 at 12100 West Center Road, Suite 600, in Bel Air Plaza. The 2,000 sq. ft., space is just north of Saigon restaurant. Locally owned by Mariena Busey, the retail store specializes in fabrics and supplies for garment and bag making, while also offering sewing patterns, notions and tools.

Doze & Dig, Omaha’s first indoor sandbox, will host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting event June 24 at 18010 R Plaza southwest of 180th & Q Street ahead of its official opening June 25. Designed for children ages 8 and younger, the business will feature a large kinetic sand play area, sand toys, a sand conveyor belt, party room, baby play area and snack bar.

The Omaha City Council voted to remove a requirement that food trucks return to a licensed commissary kitchen every 24 hours. Food truck operators argued the rule would create challenges for multi-day events such as Junkstock, concerts and the College World Series.

Africa on a Plate, a downtown restaurant serving East African cuisine, has closed at 301 South 16th Street. The 3,970 sq. ft. space is now being marketed for lease. Africa on a Plate opened last November in a space that had previously served as the long-time home of Panda House Chinese restaurant.

Yum! Brands has agreed to sell Pizza Hut to private equity firm LongRange Capital. The deal is expected to close later this year and includes thousands of Pizza Hut restaurants worldwide. Pizza Hut operates multiple Omaha-area locations.

Learn more about Anderson Convenience market at www.Anderson1952.com

Round the Bend Steakhouse Is Built on Beef, Family &Nebraska Charm

By Chris Corey

Round the Bend Steakhouse isn’t your normal steakhouse. It sits atop a hill outside Ashland, Neb., surrounded by scenic views while sporting a hard-to-miss sign advertising its annual “Testicle Festival.”

Yes, this is the place many Omahans and Nebraskans know as the home of Rocky Mountain oysters, beef fries or whatever else you want to call them. Before this review, I had never tried one. As I like to say, I’ll try just about anything once. More on this later.

Round the Bend’s modern-day story starts in 1995, when Ron Olson bought the restaurant without telling his wife, Vickie. It was an impulse purchase by a serial entrepreneur. Once Vickie cooled off, the steakhouse became a family affair.

The original Round the Bend was down the hill in South Bend before Ron opened the current hilltop location in 2003, turning the steakhouse into the destination it is today.

Ron’s son, TJ, now owns Round the Bend with his wife, Tifini, after the two purchased the restaurant from his parents in 2012. TJ was the youngest of four, and everyone in the family worked there at one point or another.

TJ grew up in the business. He began by washing dishes, then moved into hosting, bartending, serving and eventually cooking. He describes himself as the proverbial “jack of all trades, master of none.” That’s the kind of training that makes for a good restaurant owner—someone who’s been on the front lines and knows how to lead from experience.

TJ didn’t seek to overhaul the restaurant, but rather take what was working and improve upon it. Central to that is his junior high school sweetheart, now wife, Tifini. TJ says she’s “the brake to his gas pedal and the whoa to his go.” They both worked hard to purchase the restaurant, keeping the family business going for a second generation.

The menu philosophy is simple. They’re not trying to reinvent the steakhouse – just good people with good beef and delicious sides at a good value.

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Progress Update on Three South Omaha Projects Supported by State Grants

Several south-side construction and development projects are making progress as part of a multi-organization redevelopment effort. Together the three projects comprise the South Omaha Multipronged Economic Development Project, managed by Midwest Businesses and Projects with support from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

The projects are all recipients of North & South Omaha Recovery Grants, which were designed to support public and private entities to respond to the negative impact of COVID-19 and to build resilient and innovative communities in North and South Omaha. Each project is being developed with private partner companies.

Here’s a progress update:

South Omaha Global Market – Phase I

GPA Properties LLC is developing Phase I at 5125 South 24th Street. The project will create a mixed-use space for food, culture and entrepreneurship, incubate approximately 10 small businesses and generate about 150 construction jobs and 58 permanent jobs. Completion is expected in the second half of 2027. Construction is fully underway.

This project received a North & South Omaha Recovery Grant of $3.85 million.

29th & Jackson Townhomes

Collective Development LLC is building six, 4-bedroom townhomes with tandem garages and a cultural mural known as, We Are Woven Together, at 2901–2911 Jackson Street, which is just west of Interstate 480. Completion is expected in September 2026, creating 25 jobs. The townhomes are under construction and mostly enclosed. Interior work is underway.

This project received a North & South Omaha Recovery Grant of $900,000.

International Bakery Project

In 2025, Panaderia Internacional’s owners acquired the former Joe Tess Place property at 5424 South 24th Street to support expansion. GJ Property LLC was formed to advance the project. Grant funds will support acquisition and predevelopment studies, with results expected in 2027 following completion of feasibility studies. International Bakery plans to relocate to the building from its current location at 5106 South 24th Street.

This project received a North & South Omaha Recovery Grant of $450,000.

Midwest Businesses and Projects has supported all three partners through pre-construction and helped secure NSORG and City of Omaha TIF funding to support Panaderia Internacional’s expansion and property acquisition.

In the second half of 2026, Midwest Businesses and Projects will assist Panaderia Internacional and GJ Properties with feasibility studies, including design, cost estimates, scheduling, financial analysis, ROI, and business planning.

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Isaiah Ang, Contributing Writer

The City of Omaha has taken ownership of “Home Plate,” a 25-acre property in North Downtown where Union Omaha’s planned professional soccer stadium and much more will be built. The city closed on the $18.6 million land purchase last Friday. Union Pacific called the property “Home Plate” because of its proximity to Charles Schwab Field. Union Pacific retained access to six acres around its rails and to event space there through an easement as part of the property deal.

The property will allow the city to building the $140 million soccer stadium and adjacent mixed-use development. The city will ease the stadium to the Union Omaha. The mayor’s office says the lease arrangement and other financing tools help the project pay for itself. The purchase also allows the city to connect 11th Street north of Cuming Street with 10th Street south of Cuming to create a continuous north-south corridor through the area.

Steel beams are now going vertical at the construction site of Boys Town Research Hospital’s 254,000 sq. ft. expansion project northeast of 144th & Pacific Street. The $300 million 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.

The addition consists of two, 4-story wings that will jut out from the southwest and southeast corners of the existing 1-story building. The expanded facility will allow for 131,000 sq. ft. of additional hospital space for acute care, imaging and inpatient rooms as well as 123,000 sq. ft. of dedicated research labs and clinics. Plans also call for an on-site café.

Sunshine Stickers plans to build an office building northeast of 192nd & Q Street. According to a building permit, the building will be two stories and have more than 17,000 sq. ft. for office and print-shop use. Sunshine Stickers in an online retailer of custom stickers and labels.

Much of the exterior has been installed on the future Oxworth Apartments at 27th & Leavenworth Street. Clarity Development Company is building a 5-story, 194-unit apartment building on the southeast corner. The layout includes 56 studio, 115 one-bedroom and 23 two-bedroom apartments. The first floor will have 127 indoor parking stalls. An existing building at 810 South 26th Street will house an additional 12 parking stalls. Completion is planned for late 2026.

The Omaha Municipal Land Bank is offering the largest land assemblage in its decade-long history. Hope Village is a 9-acre package of 65 lots that have been grouped together into a land assembly in north Omaha’s Malcolm X neighborhood. The goal is to transform vacant, abandoned and deteriorated land into housing and community opportunities. Through August 11th, the land bank is seeking applications from developers to purchase and develop the site.

Metropolitan Community College has earned the 2026-2027 Military Friendly Schools designation as a Gold Level School and Top Ten Military Spouse-Friendly School designation for creating meaningful education paths for military-connected students.

Military Friendly is a ratings entity that measures an organization’s commitment, effort and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefits that support veterans, service members and their families. More than 3,200 organizations participated in the Military Friendly survey. A Gold Level School designation places Metro in the top 10 percent in the large community college category.

Omaha ranks #2 best among the nation’s 95 largest cities on Forbes’ 2026 list of “The Best and Worst Cities for Renters.” Lincoln is number one, meaning Nebraska holds the top two spots. The rest of the top five includes Raleigh, N.C.; Austin, Tex.; and Oklahoma City. The rankings factored rent-to-income ratios, median rental prices, availability, amenity prevalence and other criteria. The worst cities were Newark, N.J.; Long Beach, Calif.; New York City; Anaheim, Calif.; and Oakland, Calif.

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A unique specialty business appears to be opening in the Dizzy Mule building at Millwork Commons. According to a building permit, the Flatiron Luthier is opening a repair shop and showroom in a 3500 sq. ft. ground-floor space. A luthier is a specialized craftsman who builds or repairs stringed instruments. The shop will also have a small performance space and two practice rooms.

Bergman Incentives has been recognized as one of the top 100 promotional product distributors in North America according to the Promotional Products Association International. This is Bergman’s first time appearing on the organization’s leading distributors list, which places the company at #99 among more than 25,000 companies.

Valmont Industries, Inc. hosted its 2026 Investor Day earlier this week in New York City. Avner M. Applbaum, president and Chief Executive Officer, and John Schwietz, executive vice president and Chief Financial Officer, were joined by additional members of the company’s leadership team to provide an in-depth review of the company and present a refreshed strategy with updated long-term financial targets.

Fade Kings Barber Shop renewed its lease at 225 North 12th Street in The Capitol District, according to Kristi Andersen and Maddie Dugan of NAI NP Dodge, who represent the landlord. Locally owned Fade Kings has been in business since 2012.

Amigos is the Greater Omaha Chamber’s June 2026 business of the month. The Lincoln-based restaurant chain was founded in 1980 and now has more than 25 locations.

Creighton University’s Rural Mainstreet Index expanded above growth neutral this month after four straight months below that threshold. The index surveys bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and energy. The region’s overall reading for June climbed to 52.6, its highest level since July 2023 and up from May’s 45.7.

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Mark Champion, Contributing Writer

Felius Cat Cafe launched a Memory Cafe program last month for residents from The Heritage at Sterling Ridge. A black cat named Persi visited with residents, offering animal therapy and connection.

As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations this year, inCOMMON Community Development is hosting PickleBrawl: A Pickleball Party for Good on June 27. The all-ages tournament at Midwest Pickleball Club will raise money to support inCOMMON’s mission to stop poverty by strengthening vulnerable neighborhoods and celebrate neighbors, partners, volunteers and supporters. Registration is still open.

The survey for Bike Walk Nebraska’s 2026 Economic & Health Impact of Trails Study is open until June 21st. The first phase of the study facilitated by BWN is exploring the economic impact of multimodal trail use statewide, the impact of trail use on health in Nebraska, and an analysis of funding sources for multimodal trails. All trail users and representatives of organizations that support or benefit from public trails are asked to complete the survey.

Secure & Connect 2026 | July 30 | CHI Health Center Omaha

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Cole Young, Contributing Writer

The Men’s College World Series final is set and features North Carolina and Oklahoma, two teams that took very different paths to the championship series. North Carolina placed second in both the ACC regular season and tournament to earn the No. 5 national seed. Oklahoma went 14-16 in conference play and lost its first game of the SEC tournament, but has won eight straight games since reaching the NCAA Tournament to reach the MCWS finals. Each program is attempting to make history, as the Tar Heels are attempting to win their first national championship ever, while the Sooners are eyeing their first since 1994. The best-of-three championship series will begin Saturday, June 20, at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Union Omaha dropped the second match of its three-match road stretch on Saturday, falling to Sarasota Paradise, 2-0. Omaha remains in first place in USL League One standings at 9-4-1 heading into Saturday’s match with USL League One newcomer Athletic Club Boise. Omaha defeated AC Boise, 3-2, in March for its first win of the season. Saturday’s match kicks off at 8:30 p.m. and can be streamed live on ESPN+.

Tickets for the third annual State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase are now available. The five-match event, taking place August 28-30 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., features Creighton, Minnesota, Arizona State, USC and Purdue. Creighton will open the marquee neutral site showcase against Purdue on Friday, August 28, at 6 p.m. Tickets will be sold as individual day passes and can be purchased from Ticketmaster.

The Omaha Storm Chasers are facing the St. Paul Saints on the road this week, where they are currently 0-1. Omaha dropped the series opener Tuesday night, 21-2, digging a hole that they could not get out of in the first inning when it allowed eight runs. Wednesday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather, so the teams will play a doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 5:07 p.m.

Upcoming Events

• Omaha Storm Chasers at St. Paul | June 16 – 21 | 5:07 p.m. Thursday
• MCWS Championship Game 1 | Oklahoma vs. North Carolina | Saturday, June 20 | 7 p.m.
• Union Omaha at AC Boise | Saturday, June 20 | 8:30 p.m.
• MCWS Championship Game 2 | Oklahoma vs. North Carolina | Sunday, June 21 | 1:30 p.m.

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One of America’s First Malls Still Stands in Omaha

By Patrick Wyman

With a recent proposal to rehabilitate the Center Mall into a mixed-use building with 500 apartments and office space, let’s take a look back at the history of Omaha’s first enclosed shopping mall, which also happened to be one of the first in the country.

The mall was the brainchild of John Wiebe. Born in the Oklahoma panhandle in 1922, Wiebe spent much of his teenage years riding the rails going from one job as a laborer to another. He enlisted in the Navy in 1940 and arrived in Omaha in 1943 to serve in a top-secret project to modify B-29 bombers for special missions including the Enola Gay, which dropped that fateful bomb on Hiroshima in 1945 to end World War II.

After the war ended, Wiebe settled in Omaha and embarked upon a career as a building contractor producing 150 homes in the Loveland neighborhood, along with churches, schools, factories, apartments and even airports. He also built two retail stores, both of which failed before opening shopping malls, the first of which was The Center.

Wiebe conceived the idea of a suburban shopping center after his wife, Harriet, complained about the difficulty of parking downtown, the city’s primary shopping district. With that, he took to the sky to observe traffic patterns downtown from his private plane. He and his architects also charted growth trends and mapped out residential density patterns to help pinpoint the location. He used that intel to develop the shopping center, which solved the parking problem by building a parking garage around the structure, combining easier access and ample parking spaces.

He went to work finding the ideal location after hiring the architecture firms of Kenneth Welch and J.G. Daverman of Grand Rapids, Mich. They settled on undeveloped land at 42nd & Center Street across from the new Veterans Hospital. In 1954, work crews cut through a steep embankment to remove over 100,000 cubic yards of dirt from the 6 ½-acre site.

When it was finished in 1955, the five-story mall had just 200,000 sq. ft. of leasable space, small even by standards of the day. It was designed so that the first three levels were accessible from a three-story parking garage that surrounded the building. The fourth floor consisted mostly of office space, while the fifth was home to Al Green’s Skyroom Restaurant, which was part of a national chain.

The Center proved popular due to its centralized location west of downtown and for the convenience provided by its wraparound parking garage that provided easy access to its combination of retail stores. It also had the added convenience of a bank, as well as a service station nestled into the northwest corner of the lot. It was so popular that traffic directors were hired during the holidays to control foot traffic to the entrances.

Among its tenants were Big Chief supermarket, Hested’s, Younkers, Carl S. Baum Druggists, Omar Baking retail store, Reed’s Ice Cream, Kimball Laundry, Anthony’s Panther Room, Lollipop Lane, among others. The one tenant that got away was Brandeis, the king of Omaha retail. When presented with the opportunity, Wiebe recalled that Brandeis crumpled the blueprint and tossed it to the floor. Within five years of its opening, The Center faced its first real competition in the form of Crossroads Mall, which Brandeis built in 1960 at 72nd & Dodge Street.

Meanwhile, the fifth floor, which had become the Center Roof Garden Restaurant, was renovated in 1959 as Sky Lanes, a 24-lane bowling alley, as well as the Cimarron Room and Terrace, a cocktail lounge and restaurant. It also included the Kiddie Korral, which provided babysitting services. The fifth floor was destroyed and the fourth significantly damaged in a fire in 1969. The mall closed as the repairs were made, and when it reopened, it featured the Old English aesthetic that still appears within the building today.

While some consider The Center to be the first enclosed shopping mall in the country, it’s a matter of definition. Southdale Center in Edina, Minn. is often considered the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled mall. Even though The Center opened about one year earlier, some claim that having just one anchor store rather than two disqualifies it.

The Center, over time, lost its appeal as a retail mall and began to decline due to the continual westward movement of the city, as well as competition from larger malls built closer to suburban housing developments. Wiebe himself followed that trend by opening Westroads Mall at 100th & West Dodge Road in 1968.

It was a project he first proposed in 1959, but it required years of zoning approval. Once completed, his new mall was five times larger than his first. In 1978, Wiebe sold The Center to Management, Inc., a partnership formed by three of his employees. They converted it to 120,000 sq. ft. of office space, even though Younkers and Sky Lanes remained open through much of the 1990s.

Wiebe continued his distinguished career that included induction into the Omaha Business Hall of Fame. He also became one of the city’s great philanthropists, which included a contribution to Children’s Hospital in the name of his son, who passed away due to double pneumonia at six days old.

In the 1990s, the Wiebe family donated their estate at 168th & West Center Road to Children’s Hospital, which eventually sold the property to developers. John and Harriet also created the Wiebe Charitable Foundation, which donated more than $13 million to a number of organizations, the majority being children’s-based charities. Harriet passed away in 2006, followed by John in 2009.

Today, The Center remains in use by more than 100 tenants, including nonprofits in addition to government and community assistance offices that offer a wide variety of services. It’s also the home for the South Omaha Immigrant History Museum, Mama’s Attic: The Doll Museum of African American History, Gentle Dentistry and Access Bank among others.

John Wiebe couldn’t have foreseen his mall, while rough around the edges more than 70 years later, becoming what one nearby resident called a “quiet powerhouse of essential services for the citizens of Omaha” in an interview with the Omaha World-Herald. Whatever happens next, The Center has outlasted many of its peers.

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The Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum will present a Father’s Day Car Show this weekend on Saturday, June 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, June 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be multiple car-builds along with crowd-sourced voting for awards, giveaways, food, beverages and participant perks. From classic cars to modern builds, this one-of-a-kind event brings together horsepower and history inside our aircraft-filled hangars.

The Holland Performing Arts Center will present Ben Folds & A Piano tour with special guest Lindsey Kraft on Saturday, June 20 at 8 p.m. It is a spectacular performance filled with a crossover of pop and classical music.

Ben Folds is an Emmy-nominated pop artist with a catalog of innovative music including several solo albums and numerous collaborations. He has performed for over two decades with some of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras. Folds also served eight years as the first Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and is an advocate for arts funding, music education, and music therapy.

Lindsey Kraft is a versatile American actress and singer-songwriter, known for her TV roles on Grace and Frankie and Obliterated. After 20 years of film and television, Kraft made a creative career pivot in 2019 by teaching herself the piano to write her own songs. she now tours as an opening act for Folds, showcasing her semi-autobiographical musical, We’ve Been Here Before.
Visit their website for tickets and more information.

The Omaha Public Library at Millard Branch will host a fantasy-inspired escape room event for teens on Tuesday, June 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. Inspired by the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, young attendees will use teamwork, logic and determination to maneuver the escape room. To register, call the Millard Branch at 402-444-4848.

The Astro Theater has announced the Daughtry 20 Years Unplugged Tour featuring special guest Ryan Perdz will be coming to Omaha Saturday, October 31 at 8 p.m. The multi-platinum powerhouse rock band Daughtry has remained a dominant force for nearly two decades. The band has sold more than 11 million records worldwide, earned four Grammy nominations, received American Music Awards and achieved multiple Billboard chart-toppers.

Entering a bold new chapter with their latest albums, Daughtry delivers a harder-edged, high-impact statement that reaffirms they’re still driving the rock conversation and industry. Ryan Perdz is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Buffalo, N.Y. Being self-taught at the age of 10, he learned bass, violin and mandolin, developing a hands-on approach to songwriting and arrangement. Influenced by artists such as Nirvana, Chris Cornell and Led Zeppelin, Perdz channels the emotional weight of 90s rock through a modern lens, balancing grit with melody.

Tickets go on sale Friday, June 19 at 10 a.m. Visit here for tickets and more information.

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LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

Microsoft plans to launch the controversial Workplace Check-in feature in Teams this month. Employees are unlikely to welcome it, as it will allow managers to see whether they are in the office, according to PC World. Microsoft has been postponing the release of Workplace Check-in since late 2025. The company has repeatedly delayed the launch, but the current roadmap now lists June 2026 as the rollout date.

A recent study found that women tend to report worse sleep quality despite objectively sleeping better, according to The Hustle, while men often overestimate the quality of their sleep and are less likely to remember brief nighttime wakings.

A lawsuit was filed last week in Washington, D.C., on behalf of people who say their personal data was used by the Washington Post to jack up prices on their subscriptions, according to Gizmodo. The suit is seeking class action status. Some subscribers first started getting a notice in March that their subscriptions would become more expensive, with the bottom of the email reading: “This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.” By the way, Grow Omaha’s content is free and requires no subscription!

SALES

Last week, we explained why prospective clients so often go dark and end up ghosting you. This week, we discuss what you can do…

When a prospective client does go dark, what can you do?

1. Most importantly, go back to value. In order to catch the prospect’s attention in the first place, you likely had to use valuable insights. Do that again in future communications. In other words, don’t say things like, “I’m just checking in,” or “I’m still waiting to hear from you.” Instead, send them value-driven messages with new insights you haven’t mentioned before. Your follow-up communications should be compelling, not whiny.

2. Be persistent. Because prospects likely have many other things going on in their lives, they’ll assume an interested seller like you will keep on them. Even if they’re interested, they will often wait for you to initiate everything.

3. Mix it up a bit. Try different messages and use varied communication channels to get a person who goes dark on you.

4. Try a couple creative tactics. I find that a text message is more likely to be returned than an email. You can try communicating with them via a social media direct message. Some sales reps will send a calendar-invite email to jar loose a dark prospect.

5. After a few attempts, you might try a certain language technique. Sales expert Jim Keenan recommends this phraseology: “I’m confused. You said you (insert issues the prospect said they wanted/needed plus the last commitment they made to you plus the impact of not changing). Has something changed?”

Keenan says this technique holds them accountable and challenges them. I agree and have used it many times.

6. I know a lot of sales professionals who, after many attempts, use a short and simple phrase sent via email or text: “Did I lose you?” Some sales pros won’t even write anything else. If they do elaborate, it’s not much. This technique plays on our fear of loss and our desire not to let people down.

7. If you still have no communication after several attempts and an extended period of time, you have a choice to make. If the prospect would make a great client, you can move them into “nurture” mode by putting them on a periodic email drip. If the prospect wouldn’t be a star client, maybe you just delete them from your pipeline.

WISDOM

“The timing of death, like the ending of a story, gives a changed meaning to what preceded it.” – Mary Catherine Bateson

USA Watch Parties Happening June 19th and 25th
Cheer on Team USA at Smash Park La Vista during two free watch parties featuring massive screens, full game sound and food and drink specials. The USA faces Australia at 2 p.m. on June 19th, followed by a matchup against Türkiye at 9 p.m. on June 25th.

Disney’s Frozen Happening June 19th–28th
The beloved story of Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven comes to life as a full-length stage musical at The Rose Theater. Audiences can expect familiar songs, dazzling special effects, elaborate sets and puppetry during the production’s final two weekends.

BBQ & Brews Happening June 20th
Follow your appetite through Midtown Crossing during this free, pub-crawl-style block party featuring signature barbecue bites and cold brews from participating establishments. Guests can choose their own route, enjoy outdoor yard games and vote to crown the BBQ & Brews champion.

Memorial Park Concert & Fireworks Happening June 26th
Omaha’s free annual Memorial Park celebration returns with live performances by legendary singer Smokey Robinson and alternative-rock favorite CAKE. Music begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by a fireworks display at approximately 10 p.m.

Night Market Presented by Veridian Credit Union Happening June 26th
Omaha’s original Night Market returns to Turner Park with more than 50 local vendors, live music, lawn games, LED performers and adoptable dogs from the Nebraska Humane Society. The free, family- and dog-friendly event runs from 6 to 10 p.m.

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The Omaha Streetcar Authority named Steve Jensen, a member of its board, as interim director starting July 1. Former interim director Rick Gustafson will remain in place in an advisory role. The authority will conduct a search to find a new full-time director for the Omaha Streetcar project. A former planning department director, Jensen has been serving as a consultant to the mayor since 2016, primarily focused on the urban core and streetcar project.

Bridges Trust has welcomed Jossen Rinn to the firm as an associate trader. Rinn is joining the Investment Team as a recent graduate. His prior experience includes work as a derivative risk intern at Scoular, performing econometric and quantitative analyses on agricultural derivatives, and an accounting data internship at National Indemnity Company.

Green Plains shareholders elected Chris Osowski as a director to a one-year term at the company’s 2026 annual meeting held June 5. Osowski is based in Omaha and serves as the company’s president and Chief Executive Officer.

Immanuel promoted Patricia Kearns to Chief Operating Officer. She has more than 20 years of leadership experience in healthcare operations, capital development and facilities planning. She previously served as vice president of construction and capital planning at Immanuel.

The Nebraska Board of Regents on Thursday unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. H. Dele Davies as the ninth chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Davies’ appointment will take effect July 1. He has served as UNMC’s interim chancellor since July 2024.

The Greater Omaha Chamber is a catalyst and connector, advocating for businesses small and large. Learn, share and grow with more than 12,000 professionals from 3,000 member businesses across Greater Omaha. Click HERE to see our latest events.

Unless you’ve spent the last 6 months under a rock, you are aware that Wall Street is on the verge of a gaggle of “once-in-a-lifetime” IPO’s. An IPO happens when a privately owned company wants to become publicly traded, either to raise capital or to create a way for the owner(s) to cash out their equity.

The IPO process starts when a private company hires a Wall Street investment banking firm to take them public. The brokerage firms goes over the financial data of the proposed offering and calculates their estimate of the firm’s value. They then go to the public markets and shout, “Who wants to buy some of this stuff and become a millionaire?” (Sarcasm)

In this latest round of get-rich-quick hysteria, the financial media is touting the upcoming IPO’s of Space X, Anthropic and Open AI as the biggest contribution to mankind since the invention of fire. It’s impossible to watch the news and not be inundated with the possibility that Elon Musk will become the world’s first trillionaire because he’s taking his rocket ship company public.

In his latest Wall Street Journal column, Jason Zwieg informed the investing public that Wall Street is so excited about the upcoming IPO’s of these three companies that they are poised to jump the gun and get shares of these companies into the hands of mom-and-pop investors faster than normal.

Under normal circumstances, when a company goes through an IPO and becomes publicly traded, the companies that manufacture the S&P 500 and NASDAQ index funds will wait a year or more before adding them into their portfolios.

However, Jason opined that the manufacturers of the S&P and Nasdaq index funds will fast-tract these offerings and that they could appear in their funds as quickly as five days after the IPO’s begin trading on the open market.

Jason went on to point out that while the completion of these epic IPO’s will propel Musk and his Wall Street enablers into the monetary stratosphere, the market cap of these newly minted cash gushers will place them in the bottom 10 percent of the major index funds’ weighting scale. Thus, their immediate impact on the market will be negligible.

So why do you care? Because if you continue to buy and hold shares of S&P 500 and Nasdaq index funds in your 401k, these companies have the potential to become the future pillars of the American economic engine. Thus, if you forget the needle and by the haystack, your 401k will be the gift that keeps on giving

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The Grow Omaha radio show broadcasts live every Saturday morning at 9:00, but now you can watch videos of each episode instead of just listening.

Grow Omaha’s brand-new website features video footage shot inside the radio studio during each week’s show!

Videos include News of the Week, Lightning Round, guest interviews, and “Grow Omaha Uncut,” a behind-the-scenes look at what happens during commercial breaks.

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