Weekly Market Report

Kpot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot plans to open its first Nebraska restaurant in the former Granite City building at Westroads Mall. The popular, 50-location chain is growing rapidly. Most locations are located along the east coast. The closest existing location is in Kansas City.

Wienerschnitzel premium hot dogs will open its first Nebraska location in the MH Landing development northeast of 72nd & Grover Street. Back in December, we reported that lease negotiations were underway for this deal. Wienerschnitzel’s lease, which was confirmed recently by the landlord, will be in an under-construction building to be shared with Salty Dog sports bar.

Kong Dog, a popular Korean corn dog chain, opened last week at Nebraska Crossing. It replaced Auntie Anne’s pretzels, which moved to the former Frank’s Pizzeria space. Kong Dog is owned by Eric Bergt, who also has Dragon Wok at Nebraska Crossing. Jamba Juice is scheduled to join the Nebraska Crossing lineup next month.

Insomnia Cookies plans to open a second Omaha store at 3863 Farnam Street in the Blackstone District in a recently constructed commercial building. Interior build-out is underway. Insomnia recently opened a location in the Capitol District downtown.

Nebraska’s first-ever LEGO store will open late this summer at Nebraska Crossing in a 2,131 sq. ft. space just east of Vineyard Vines. Interior build-out is already underway. The store will offer more than 500 LEGO sets. The official opening date will be announced early this summer.

A Carter’s and Oshkosh store just signed a lease at Shadow Lake Towne Center in Papillion. Interior renovations will start next week, according to Perkins-Criitser Construction. Carter’s and Oshkosh will occupy a 4,500 sq. ft. space next to Sally Beauty and Dogtopia.

Lansky’s Gretna plans to change its name to “5 Thirty-One Pizza & Phillies” sometime early this summer. The restaurant will have the same ownership and will serve authentic Amoroso hoagies from Philadelphia.

Krush Ultra Lounge is replacing Throwback Arcade at 1402 Howard Street. Grand opening is tomorrow. Krush, which has the same ownership as the controversial Throwback Arcade, has received approval from the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission.

Godega Market & Coffee Bar has added sidewalk seating outside its Old Market shop on the northeast corner of 11th & Howard Street.

Walgreen’s has opened a new store on the southeast corner of 192nd & Cypress Drive in the Gretna Landing development.

Fashion designer Alexander Julian will make a personal appearance at Rossi Clothiers in Rockbrook Village on April 17th as part of Charlie Rossi’s 80th birthday celebration. Julian, who designs clothing and home furnishings, will have samples from his spring and fall collections available in the store.

El’ Bee’s Mexican restaurant at 10402 South 144th Street has announced it will close permanently. The last day will be April 29th. The restaurant’s Waterloo location will remain open.

The CVS Pharmacy store at 132nd & West Center Road will close on May 14th. Customers are encouraged to use the CVS store at 14203 U Street, which will remain open.

The “Restaurant & Retail Updates” section is sponsored by Anderson Convenience Market, featuring Quality AMOCO Fuels and serving Omaha since 1952, and proud to announce the return of Quality Amoco Fuels. Look for changes this Summer at Anderson Convenience Market – 8 Omaha area locations!

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

Review: At The Salty Dog, crispy, dry wings take time but are worth the wait

By Sarah Baker Hansen

I wasn’t expecting to be writing a full review of The Salty Dog. My plan was to run in, try their chicken wings — recommended to me by some restaurant industry friends — and write a few sentences about them on my blog.

But it turned out that the bar and grill, tucked in a strip mall in Council Bluffs about five minutes from downtown Omaha, had wings good enough that I got curious: What was their burger like?

And here we are.

I hadn’t heard of The Salty Dog, but during my two visits it was crowded each time with locals, families, young baseball players, glammed up little girls coming in straight from a dance competition and lots of regulars holding down the bar. Apparently I’m the last to know.

You all know by now that I’ve been eating a lot of wings since the launch of the 2025 food bracket, which ended with our closest vote ever on Monday. The wings at The Salty Dog are singular in my tastings, particularly because of their “extra crispy extra dry” technique. According to the menu, the kitchen fries the wings for a full 20 minutes, then grills them “extra long,” resulting in a dry, crispy skinned wing that still has a tender center. I was intrigued. Worth noting: the menu asks diners to be patient, as this particular wing can take up to a half hour to cook.

I got my order with the buffaque sauce, which is half barbecue, half buffalo.

I really, really like these wings. The skin is just as advertised, dry and crisp, but in a pleasant way. The exterior has a blackened appearance — the barbecue sauce’s high sugar content contributes to that — but the wings don’t taste burnt. Instead, they taste pleasantly charred. Inside, the meat is tender. The wings aren’t particularly large, but they’re tasty, and as a person who likes wings that are less saucy, these hit the sweet spot for me.

I’ll add that the crispy dry wings did end up taking almost a half hour to arrive. I settled in with a drink and waited on friends. The time flew by.

We also tried The Salty Dog’s classic wings, a dozen fried and dipped heavily in buffalo sauce. Spicy and satisfying, with lots of sauce, you’re going to need several napkins to get through a dozen. That night we also tried the bar’s Buffalo chicken poutine, because why not?

It’s a cheesy, chickeny experience: Hot French fries cooked crispy get topped with a pile of shredded chicken, a heavy ladle of Buffalo sauce both blue and pepper jack cheese, bacon and green onion. It’s rich and fatty, one of those dishes that you find yourself not being able to stop eating.

We headed back to Council Bluffs on a Sunday afternoon for lunch, and again found the front parking lot full. (There’s a second paved lot behind the bar, and a third gravel lot when things get really crowded.) With the women’s NCAA tournament wrapping up that afternoon, a big crowd streamed in for the Iowa game.

I like that The Salty Dog doesn’t take itself too seriously. The menu boasts some funny dishes, for example, the pepperoni pizza rolls: “Yep, they’re Totino’s,” the menu says. “But we fry ‘em.”

Or the burger we ordered, the “Holy Mother Trucker,” essentially an over-the-top breakfast burger that the menu describes as “for the trucker that drove all night and missed breakfast!” and “great cure for a hangover!”

For the record, we were not hung over when we ordered it, but it was good nonetheless: A messy, eggy situation with a mid-thick patty, plenty of bacon, a soft egg, Swiss and cheddar cheese and a warm bun. Served with thick rounds of onion rings, you won’t leave hungry here.

We also tried the cheese curds — a favorite of Matthew’s since childhood — and found them solid, plenty hot and crispy, served with homemade ranch and marinara topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

The one dish I didn’t love was the chicken Philly. I think I made a mistake ordering it with the optional cream cheese, which turned the sandwich into a creamier, dip-like experience that just wasn’t my jam. I did like the sauteed onions and mushrooms, jalapenos, big chunks of chicken and the soft bun. Next time, I think I’d go for the restaurant’s version of a BLT, or the Buffalo chicken sandwich instead.

I didn’t get a chance to talk to the owners before my deadline, but the team also runs Caddy’s Kitchen and Cocktails in downtown Council Bluffs and in late 2023, announced plans for an Omaha location to open near 72nd Street and Interstate 80 in 2024.

The Salty Dog serves a nice version of bar food classics, and I think in particular, the crispy, charred wings are worth crossing the river for. I know when I get a craving for wings (which, honestly, probably won’t be for several months after finishing the 2024 bracket) I know where to go.

The Salty Dog Bar & Grill
https://www.saltydogcb.com/

2411 S. 24th St., Council Bluffs

712-256-4851

Hours:
Open daily: 11a – 2a

Sarpy County Road Work

Roadwork will start this month along a major thoroughfare in northwest Sarpy County.

Widening 168th Street from Giles Road north to the BNSF Railroad Bridge will improve traffic flow in this growing area of the county. The three-lane project will add dedicated turn lanes and urban drainage.

“An expanded 168th Street will better serve our residents,” said Sarpy County Commissioner Jim Warren. “Sarpy is committed to projects like this that ensures our road network can accommodate the growing number of drivers that will frequent our new neighborhoods, schools and businesses.”

The project is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 15th.

Northbound 168th Street will remain open during the project, while southbound 168th Street traffic from Josephine Street to Birch Street will detour to 180th Street or 144th Street/Highway 50.

The project is expected to take 90 days and finish before nearby Cedar Hollow Elementary School opens in August. The new school is located on the northwest corner of 168th and Giles.

Neighborhoods in this area will remain accessible for the duration of the project.

This project will include a weeklong closure of the 168th Street and Giles Road intersection so that Graham Construction crews can add right-hand turn lanes, pedestrian crossings and improved signalization.

In other transportation news, Sarpy County this week unveiled a proposal for six square miles between Capehart and Platteview Roads, from 36th to 72nd Street. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the includes several new or improved roads in the southeast part of the county.

The plan also accounts for the planned $600 million Platteview Expressway which would run parallel to Platteview Road between Kennedy Freeway to the east and Interstate 80 to the west. That expressway has not yet been funded.

Westlake Ace Hardware is moving from 84th & Center Street to Westgate Plaza. The hardware store will take up just about all the space north of Mangelsen’s. Some existing Westgate Plaza retailers are vacating, including a bakery and Tom Kelley’s Bowling Pro Shop, which will move to Bel Air Plaza near 120th & West Center Road. A new Starbuck’s coffee shop is also planned for Westgate.

Interior demolition has already started at the Central Park Plaza twin towers downtown. That’s where NuStyle Development is converting the three-building complex into The Duo, which will include more than 700 apartment units and a city-owned parking garage. The $163 million project is scheduled for completion in 2027.

Mega Saver plans to build a gas station-convenience store in the place of the old Fuddrucker’s building southeast of 72nd & Dodge Street, according to KMTV. Mega Saver has submitted plans to the city, but right now there is no timeline to break ground.

Not all projects that receive Tax Increment Financing approval come to fruition. The City of Omaha has rescinded TIF that it had approved a couple years ago for a 5-story, 134-unit apartment building on the southeast corner of 27th & Leavenworth Street.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center and Creighton University, along with community partners, received one of four grants awarded across the country by the Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Health Justice to use and evaluate the association’s “Principles of Trustworthiness” toolkit for one year.

SHARE Omaha recently surveyed area nonprofits regarding volunteerism. Here are the results: 94 local organizations responded, revealing that 51 percent of their volunteer needs are going unfilled; those organizations report needing a total of 69,865 volunteer hours each week with currently 34,249 being served; The current Omaha volunteer shortage is creating a gap of $1.1 million in value across these 94 organizations.

National data show that each volunteer hour completed is the equivalent of $31.80 of value to the nonprofit served. One of every eleven Nebraskans is employed by a nonprofit, representing 10 percent of the state’s economy.

Grow Omaha Snippets are brought to you by Omaha Car Care with four metro area locations – 131st & Dodge, 58th & Center, 85th & L and 144th & Harrison.

Omaha Car Care “We’ll be along for the ride.”

A 4-story Fairfield Inn by Marriott hotel is scheduled to open April 20th in MH Landing on the northeast corner of 72nd & Grover Street.

Google Fiber will open its first Nebraska office this spring in the Ashton Building at 1229 Millwork Avenue in North Downtown. The 7,000 sq. ft. office will house an undisclosed number of workers.

AMCON Distributing Company, an Omaha-based consumer products company, has closed its previously announced acquisition of Burklund Distributors, Inc., of East Peoria, Ill.

ISG, a leading global technology research and advisory firm based in Connecticut, has recognized Omaha-based FNTS as a “Rising Star” in two categories; Mainframe-as-a-Service and Mainframe Operations in its annual Americas research report.

Authentic Edge Realty has leased 1,664 sq. ft. of office space at 9839 South 168th Avenue, according to Maddie Graeve of NAI NP Dodge, who represented the landlord.

Berkshire Hathaway is planning to sell yen bonds in the global markets, fueling speculation that chairman Warren Buffet is weighing more investments in Japan, according to Bloomberg. Berkshire would be the first major non-financial overseas debt issuer to kick off a yen deal after the Bank of Japan scrapped the world’s last negative interest rate last month.

Haney Shoes has been named as the April 2024 business of the month by the Greater Omaha Chamber. The Benson-area, family-owned retailer was founded in 1942 and operates at 6060 Maple Street.

Cheer Athletics, an all-star cheer gym at 14620 Gold Coast Road in Papillion, will hold an open house Sunday, April 14th at 1 p.m. Interested kids and their parents can meet the owners and coaches and tour the facility.

At Top Gun Painting, we pride ourselves on quality, craftsmanship and knowledge of the trade. For 39 years, we have committed ourselves to top-notch quality in the commercial/residential painting industry. There’s no job we can’t handle and assure satisfaction. We have an exceptional trade name and dedication to each and every client. We look forward to helping shape the future of Omaha and put color in lives… Let us serve you!

LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

According to a Morning Consult report, workers prefer hybrid work (29%) over remote work (23%). Forty-six percent of workers actually prefer in-person work.

In his latest letter to shareholders, Jamie Dimon, chairman & CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., compared artificial intelligence to the printing press, steam engine and electricity. This emerging technology will have a massive impact.

For the first time in nearly two decades, the percentage of women in the C-suite at publicly traded US companies has dropped, according to CNN. In 2023, women held 11.8 percent of the 15,000 C-suite roles, down from 12.2 percent the year before.

Business Travel – Starting October 1st, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will increase the application fee for Global Entry from $100 to $120, according to Travel + Leisure. Travelers who obtain a Global Entry membership also receive the benefits of TSA PreCheck.

Common Misconception – A recent survey asked Americans, “To the best of your knowledge, how much do you think the top 1% of taxpayers by income account for in terms of share of total federal income tax paid?” Twenty-two percent of respondents thought the top 1% only paid 1% of all U.S. income taxes, according to the Wall Street Journal. In reality, the top 1% pays about 42% of all income taxes.

SALES

If you want to improve your performance, try speeding up how quickly you respond to new prospects. Technology has made infinite amounts of information immediately available at our fingertips. The result? We now expect everything NOW. If you’re waiting 24 hours to call back prospects, you’re in great danger of losing them to a more responsive competitor.

The columnist Cal Thomas once said, “A culture that fixates on celebrities is a culture that is cannibalizing itself. Embracing the base while rejecting the noble will produce more of one and less of the other.” Though I advise sales pros to become a “celebrity within your own sphere of interest,” I completely agree. We need to promote ourselves, but more importantly, we must accomplish things worth promoting.

After successfully recruiting a talented sales pro to your company, how do you transition from wining-and-dining them managing them? You “de-recruit” them. Provide what you promised while recruiting them, but make sure they know they’re expected to produce and earn their own business. Hold your star recruits accountable and let them know that much is expected of them. Top producers embrace high expectations.

WISDOM

“As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say; I just watch what they do.” – Andrew Carnegie

https://www.dundeebanking.com/

Did you know the total industrial real estate market in Omaha adds up to 107 million square feet? An additional 4.8 million sq. ft. is currently under construction. Only 2.6 percent of Omaha’s industrial space is vacant at this time.

Did you know the Omaha Community Playhouse opened its winter season with A Christmas Carol in 1976? Almost 50 years later, it’s a beloved annual tradition.

Did you know that Boys Town was named a National Historic Landmark in 1985?

This section is sponsored by Lockbox Storage, an affiliate of Omaha-based McGregor Interests Inc. We provide storage solutions for all of your storage needs. Our facilities have full-time managers and bright lighting to provide superior security for your belongings. In addition to space for rent, we also provide packing supplies, protection plans and locks along with complimentary handcarts and dollies. Visit LockBox Storage and let us help you with all your storage needs.

Kids Night Out on April 13th: Get ready for a WILD night! While parents enjoy a well-deserved date night, kids ages 5 to 12 years old will discover fun new ways to appreciate wildlife. Hosted by trained educators, each unique program includes pizza, snacks, animal experience, movie time, engaging and educational activities and more! Event drop off is at 5 p.m. and pick up is at 9 p.m. Limited space is available. Reservations are required.

2nd Annual Tequila Expo on April 13th: Join others on Saturday, April 13th between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. for a showcase of tequilas. Spirit World will have a wide variety of tequilas from blancos to anejos, representing different flavor profiles. There will be straight samples to show you how to use them in cocktails. Tickets are $20 with $10 going toward your purchase of a bottle of any featured tequila. Purchasing a ticket in advance is highly recommended!

Pretty Woman: The Musical happening April 16th to 21st: Are you ready to fall in love all over again? Pretty Woman: The Musical features an original score by Grammy® winner Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, and a book by the movie’s legendary director Garry Marshall and screenwriter J. F. Lawton. This performance will lift your spirits and light up your heart. “If you love the movie, you’ll love the musical!” (BuzzFeed News).

Ralston Wine Walk on April 18th: This is an opportunity to explore historic Downtown Ralston and sample some great wine! With 27 wine vendors, you are sure to find a wine that you fall in love with! Pre-registration is available now online. This will secure your participation in the actual event!

From Startup Employee to 2X Founder w. Derek Homann, Co-Founder of Workshop on April 18th: Derek Homann joins Scale Omaha to share his story and lessons from his days as an early employee at an Omaha-based startup that acquired, to founder of a company that he successfully exited. He’ll also discuss the most recent company he co-founded, Workshop: a Series-A-backed, high-growth Nebraska-based SaaS startup. Come out to learn more about Derek Homann’s success stories and connect with others in the community!

Secrets for Artificial Intelligence in NEWbraska now on April 18th: Discover the WHY of AI in Metro Omaha over a complimentary lunch and drinks at Clean Slate Cafe in Millwork Commons. Engage in discussions on the significance and impact of AI in the region, focusing on innovation and potential applications. Share your experiences and insights, and connect with fellow attendees interested in the intersection of technology and community development.

This Upcoming Events section is sponsored by Eagle Mortgage Company, is a locally owned and full-service mortgage company in Omaha.

Eagle Mortgage can help you realize your dream of owning a home.

Mutual of Omaha has appointed Beth Belanger as vice president and medical director of workplace solutions. She previously served as a medical consultant at Unum Group. Belanger earned a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and a medical doctorate from the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine.

Carson Group, an Omaha-based financial services firm, announced that founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ron Carson will transition to the role of chairman and has selected Burt White to lead the firm as CEO. Carson will retain majority ownership in the firm. White came to Carson Group two years ago and was previously managing director and Chief Investment Officer at LPL Financial for 14 years.

Applied Underwriters has named Gregg Holtmeier to the post of vice president of strategic development. He has been in the insurance and reinsurance fields since his graduation from Swarthmore College in 2000 and has spent several years in senior executive management positions.

Avenue Scholars has announced a new leadership structure and succession plan. Founding president and CEO Ken Bird will continue to lead the organization as CEO until September 1st. Alongside him, Lindsay Decker, current senior director of communications & development, will assume the role of president and Chief Operating Officer.

DLR Group has hired Therese Volkmann as an accounts payable specialist.

WoodmenLife elected Patrick L. Dees of Katy, Tex, to the company’s national board of directors. He will serve on the Fraternal and Compensation Committees. Dees previously held the position of WoodmenLife chairman, president & Chief Executive Officer in Omaha before retiring in 2023.

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.

I recently read a book titled Adaptive Markets. The book is 683 pages long, in 12-point type. It has 26 pages of references in 10-point type and another 18 pages of footnotes. It’s more than 100,000 words in length.

It was written by a cloistered, hoity toity, Ph.D. professor from M.I.T. It’s claim-to-fame is that, once-and-for-all, it proves beyond a shadow of scientific doubt, that the stock market is random.

The events of a recent day helped put this into perspective for me. At 6:00 a.m. on the day in question, the futures were trading at an unusually strong plus-1.25 percent. The market opened slightly off that mark, at plus-.95 percent.

As I watched the talking heads on CNBC jibber jabber, they stressed that it was a quiet news day and that INVESTORS, (whoever the hell they are) were waiting for the latest unemployment figures scheduled to be released two days later. Through the morning hours, trading remained calm, with the S&P up over one and a half percent.

And then all of a sudden, about 1:00 p.m., the market dropped from plus-1.40 percent down to .85 percent. Within the course of 45 minutes, almost a billion trades were transacted. In the midst of this kerfuffle, the talking heads continued to quietly yammer on about the Disney proxy fight, oblivious to the flurry going on behind them. And then, at the end of the day, the market closed down 1.75 percent and more than 7 billion trades were made.

Late in the day, the talking heads pivoted their lip-flapping toward an incredibly lame explanation of the day’s events. They opined that today’s activity was the result of INVESTORS becoming concerned about what the unemployment figures – to be released two days hence – might reveal. To my further disbelief, they were adamant that there was no clear indication of which way those, yet-to-be-released, unemployment numbers would go.

Now I ask you, what rational person would believe that, all of a sudden, out of the clear blue sky, tens of thousands of INVESTORS, all decided at the same time to make one billion trades? In order to do that, they all had to be sitting with their pinkie fingers on the enter button of a computer hard wired to one (or more) of the plethora of electronic exchanges, anticipating a sign flashed to them from an unknown epic force. (A sign that would not arrive until 48 hours later.)

All of this brings to mind the Wizard of Oz story. In it, Dorothy, a tin man, a lion and a scarecrow are traveling to meet the Wizard, because he is all-knowing, all seeing, and omnipotent. But after poking around, they discovered that the Wizard was really just an ordinary person, who, through deception and a bit of magic, had created the illusion of his omnipotence.

The hero of the story is the scarecrow. He was traveling with the gang because he wanted a brain. But in reality, he was really the smartest member of the group. His brilliance was that he understood his limitations. He doesn’t need a Ph.D., and 683 pages of scientific jibber jabber to figure out that the market is random.

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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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