Weekly Market Report – February 10, 2022

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Brazilian Steakhouse Downtown – Interior build-out has started in the Capitol District the future Texas de Brazil churrascaria. The restaurant is going into the recently completed 3-story building fronting Capitol Avenue. Texas de Brazil is a Dallas-based chain with 50 locations. The closest existing locations are in Chicago and Oklahoma City.

The former J. Coco restaurant, which closed recently at 5203 Leavenworth Street, will become Elmwood Pharmacy. The pharmacy is currently located behind – just to the south – of the old J. Coco space.

The Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting tomorrow afternoon for Slice Pizzeria inside Harrah’s Casino.

Over Easy has re-opened after being closed for about a month because of water damage. The breakfast-and-lunch restaurant is located southwest of 168th & Q Street.

Warby Parker is coming soon to Village Pointe shopping center near 168th & West Dodge Road. New York-based Warby Parker has 160 stores and sells stylish glasses and sunglasses. The closest existing locations are in Kansas City and Minneapolis.

Hy-Vee is expected to begin construction later this year on its 12th metro area location at 192nd & Highway 370. Hy-Vee has already opened a Fast & Fresh convenience store on that site.

When going out to dinner with friends or family, you’ve probably asked the age-old question: “Where should we go?” Well, Omaha Food Lovers has created a new app that will helps you answer that question. Check it out HERE.

The “Restaurant & Retail Updates” section is sponsored by Backlot Pizza + Kitchen located near 204th & Q, where you can enjoy Detroit-style pizza, classic favorites and craft cocktails!”

Amazon Air Lands in Nebraska

Today, Amazon Air launched daily cargo service at Omaha’s Eppley Airport with an inaugural flight arriving shortly after 2:40 a.m. this morning. This is Amazon Air’s first regional gateway in Nebraska to support fast, efficient package deliveries to Amazon customers throughout the region and country.

Silver Airways will operate daily flights for Amazon Air between Omaha and Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) in Fort Worth, Texas using an ATR72-500 aircraft. Amazon Air’s newest regional gateway will be operated by GAT Airline Ground Support.

“We are pleased to welcome Amazon Air to Eppley Airfield with this exciting new cargo service for the Omaha metro area and Nebraska,” said Dave Roth, CEO, Omaha Airport Authority. “Amazon’s new presence at Eppley will provide enhanced cargo activity at the airport and support deliveries throughout Omaha and the surrounding areas.”

“Customers throughout Nebraska, western Iowa, and the surrounding region have shown an increased demand in orders and we are excited to expand Amazon Air to provide greater capacity for shipping packages,” said Chris Preston, Director of Amazon Air Gateway Operations. “Amazon continues to invest and grow in Nebraska and we look forward to keep delivering what our customers want: great selection, low prices, and fast shipping speeds.”

Amazon has created more than 500 jobs with 1,000 indirect jobs supported on top of the company’s direct hires since 2010. It has also invested more than $250 million in Nebraska over the past decade, including infrastructure and compensation to employees, which have also contributed an additional $200 million in GDP to the Nebraska economy thus far.

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The mixed-use development planned for the Flatiron District downtown has a name: “Bauhaus.” The project recently received final plat approval, so construction can begin soon. The site is bordered by Howard, 18th and 19th streets as well as St. Mary’s Avenue.

The historic, 6-story Standard Oil building sits on the northeast corner, while the rest of the lot is currently used as a surface parking lot. The Standard Oil building will be converted into 40 studio and one-bedroom apartments. Plans call for a 118,000 sq. ft. building to be constructed on the surface lot. That building will have 120 apartments and four street-level commercial bays.

Construction is coming along on a Rocket Carwash location northwest of 144th & Stoney Brook Blvd. The carwash is immediately west of a recently completed family medical clinic.

After 30 years in the Omaha market, Relax the Back store is relocating its retail operations to its existing location in Overland Park, Kan. The company will continue to serve the Omaha market with a local warehouse storage facility providing both delivery and drop ship to Omaha-area customers. The Kansas store will also serve the Minneapolis area.

Iowa-based R&R Realty has announced plans to build six new warehouses, totaling 1.3 million sq. ft. on 100 acres southeast of 156th & Schram Road, according to the Omaha World-Herald. R&R Realty recently built 1.1 million sq. ft. of warehouse space (in four buildings), just to the north in a development called Commerce Park.

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Real Estate News from CoStar – Chipotle Mexican Grill’s appetite for new locations is rising along with its digital sales, as the company now looks to more than double its fast-casual restaurant count over the next few years to 7,000 nationwide — largely by downplaying on-site dining.

Executives of Newport Beach, California-based Chipotle, which operates 2,966 mostly company-owned stores, told analysts Tuesday the company’s development team is now equipped to reach 8% to 10% annual location growth starting this year. READ MORE

Berkshire Hathaway’s world-famous annual shareholders meeting will be held at CHI Health Center Omaha on Saturday, April 30th. At this time, Berkshire is planning for an in-person meeting. As has been done for the past several years, the meeting will also be webcast. Additional information about the meeting will be included in Berkshire’s 2021 Annual Report which is scheduled to be released on Saturday, February 26th.

HDR is acquiring SPF Water Engineering, an employee-owned water, wastewater and hydrogeologic consulting firm based in Boise, Idaho. Going forward, they will do business as HDR|SPF. The company offers water supply studies, well design and construction, water and wastewater system design, water rights consulting and more.

Ag Processing Inc., an Omaha-based cooperative, plans to build a new state-of-the-art soybean processing plant near David City, Neb. The facility will have the capacity to process more than 50 million bushels of soybeans per year. The plant is scheduled to open in 2025.

Omaha-based Farm Credit Services of America is returning more than $296.5 million of its 2021 net income to farmers and ranchers in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Cash-back dividend checks were mailed January 27th.

Union Pacific Corporation has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.18 per share on the company’s common stock, payable March 31, 2022, to shareholders of record February 28, 2022. Union Pacific has paid dividends on its common stock for 123 consecutive years.

AMCON Distributing Company, an Omaha-based consumer products company, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per common share. This cash dividend is payable on March 1, 2022 to shareholders of record as of February 4, 2022.

This section is sponsored by FranNet of The Heartland, the local, trusted franchise experts. They are “in the business of helping you get into business!”

NAI NP Dodge has added Harley Gordman as a licensed commercial real estate sales person. He provides comprehensive brokerage services for office, retail, industrial, multi-family and investment properties. Gordman graduated in December with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Arizona State University.

Scooter’s Coffee has appointed Mitch Langston as vice president of marketing. Langston has held senior marketing positions with Church’s Chicken, Chili’s Grill and Bar, Applebee’s, Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen and other companies. Omaha-based Scooters has more than 400 stores in 23 states.

Union Pacific Corporation announced Teresa Finley has been elected to the company’s board of directors. Finley served as Chief Marketing & Business Services Officer for United Parcel Service, Inc. from 2015 to 2017. Her prior UPS roles included Treasurer and Vice President of Finance, Corporate Controller, CFO of UPS International and Vice President of Investor Relations, as well as leadership positions in UPS business units. Following her retirement from UPS, Finley served as a Senior Advisor for Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, from 2019 through 2021.

Gregg Bailey has been named senior vice president at i3 Bank’s mortgage division. i3 was previously known as Bank of Bennington.

Uniti Med Partners has appointed Chris Sund as Chief Operating Officer. Uniti is an Omaha-based medical staffing company.

Valmont Industries, Inc. announced that Renee Campbell, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, has been named Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer. In this expanded role, Campbell will lead both the investor relations and treasury functions to support the company’s long-term growth strategy, including investor communications, ESG, capital allocation and capital structure, treasury operations, cash management and risk management.

Hancock & Dana has announced several promotions: Ethan Boes, senior associate; Jeff Faltys, partner; Cecilia London, senior associate; Eric Oman, supervisory senior; Trey Rongisch, senior associate; Dan Torczon, equity partner; Beth Tyler, manager; and Stephanie Vanicek, partner.

The “People in the News” section is sponsored by Baird Holm LLP. Baird Holm’s dedicated team of real estate lawyers has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate law, including purchases, sales, zoning and land use, leasing, and dispute resolution. Click HERE for more information.

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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