Weekly Market Report – June 3, 2021

Restaurant & Retail Updates

Miss the Loose Meat? – B&G Tasty Foods is coming back! The long-time Omaha restaurant, which was located in Beverly Hills Plaza, will return (hopefully soon) but at a new location. Bartholomew Restaurant Holdings bought the brand name and recipes and is “diligently searching” for a desirable site along the Dodge Corridor between 72nd and 90th Street. Potential locations along Cass and 72nd Street fell through but the search continues. When B&G finally lands somewhere, plans call for a sit-down restaurant with a drive-thru lane plus all your favorites with a few improvements.

Basement Grow Room – Gather Omaha, which plans to open this summer at 1108 Howard Street in the Old Market, will have a basement “greenhouse” for growing drink garnishes and other fresh menu items. The restaurant is considering installing a table next to the grow room where a few lucky patrons can enjoy a quiet meal. Gather Omaha’s owner was once involved in the old 7 Monkeys but went on to open restaurants in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and Park City, Utah.

Lula B’s Breakfast, Brunch and Bar has opened at 902 Dodge Street in the former Local space. Part of the Capitol District, Lula B’s bills itself as “downtown’s breakfast, brunch and coffee spot” and serves brunch and breakfast menu items all day in addition to dinner items. The chef, Joe Becerra, is from from Mexico City and is a part owner of the business. The restaurant offers an array of tap cocktails plus full bar service.

An Ecclectic New Place – All Good Food has opened at 2521 South 132nd Street in a strip center northeast of 132nd & Center Road. The restaurant serves a small-but-ecclectic menu ranging from keto protein bowls to grilled PB&Js to “saucy nugs.”

Breakfast on Maple – The Village Inn near 138th & West Maple Road has been closed during the pandemic, but the building now has a “Reopening Soon” sign.

The Wait Is Over – Nebraska’s first Smokin’ Oak Wood Fired Pizza and Taproom is now open in Midtown Crossing.

At the Carwashes – In what has become a development trend, membership-based carwashes have been popping up all over the metro area. The West Dodge Corridor is no exception. A Tommy’s Express Carwash is nearing completion northeast of 180th & Dodge. Site grading is underway on the northeast corner of 120th & Dodge for a Tidal Wave Auto Spa. Meanwhile, another Tidal Wave is planned for 86th and Dodge.

West O Retail Development Coming Soon – The Shoppes at Heartwood are now being marketed for lease. Plans call for an upscale retail development southwest of 144th & West Dodge Road between two under-construction office buildings and a future 18-acre park. It’s all part of the $1 billion-plus Heartwood Preserve development.

Did You Miss Last Week’s News? No Problem! – You can access all of our past newsletters by going to GrowOmaha.com and clicking “Market Report” on the navigation bar. Each of those newsletters has “New Restaurants & Retailers” listed first, because EVERYONE wants to know that!

The Big Story

Major Industrial Building Planned Next Door to Amazon Distribution Center

Omaha-based Black Elk Development has announced plans for a 156,000 sq. ft. industrial building to be constructed on a 13.26-acre site in Papillion on the northeast corner of 138th & Highway 370 immediately east of Amazon’s 2.1 million sq. ft. regional distribution center.

The building will feature 32-foot-clear ceiling heights and will share the same entrance from Highway 370 as Amazon. Property features will include 10 rear-loaded dock doors, a 140-foot truck court, 32 trailer parking stalls and 60-foot speed bays.

The smallest available space for lease is 78,000 sq. ft. Construction is expected to begin fairly soon with site grading taking place as early as this fall. NAI NP Dodge brokers Bryan Hartmann, Todd Schneidewind and Victor Pelster are in charge of leasing. Additional property information is available by clicking HERE.

The area around Highways 370 & 50 has been an epicenter for giant development projects over the past two years with some of the world’s largest companies involved. In addition to the Amazon regional distribution center, other projects include multi-billion-dollar data centers for Facebook and Google as well as a smaller, “last-mile” warehouse for Amazon.

Grow Omaha Snippets

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The former O’Keefe Elevator building at 1402 Jones Street will be converted into 19 residential condos. The 4-story building will also have 13,500 sq. ft. of ground-level retail space. Condos would be about 2,200 sq. ft. The O’Keefe building is located in an area that is becoming a western extension of the Old Market.

A small row-house project is planned for a .28-acre residential lot at 4th & Woolworth in the Little Italy Neighborhood. After clearing the site, construction would begin on a 2-story building with five market-rate rental unites. Construction is scheduled to begin in September.

Our latest Grow Omaha Construction Update is now available. During this 5-minute video, Brad Williams takes you on a tour of several metro area projects including Elkhorn Station, downtown Ralston, Interstate 29 widening, a new bank near AksarBen Village, La Vista City Centre and many more. Watch it by clicking HERE.

The famed Sokol Auditorium is getting a makeover and a new name. Omaha-based 1% Productions purchased the nearly 100-year-old building for $1.6 million. The new ownership plans to invest $2.5 million upgrading the 1,400-seat music venue and will rename it “The Admiral.” Opening is planned for February.

Gretna has long been one of Nebraska’s fastest growing cities, but now the Omaha suburb is about to double in size. The Nebraska Supreme Court sided with Gretna in an annexation dispute with Sarpy County. Consequently, Gretna’s population will increase to approximately 10,000 people. It will still be smaller than Bellevue, Papillion and La Vista but bigger than Ralston, Bennington, Springfield, Valley and Waterloo.

After more than 70 years in its current building, WOWT television will move its operations to the next-door Blackstone Plaza. That’s the 15-story building that houses Warren Buffett’s office and was once Kiewit’s headquarters. Plans call for eventually tearing down the current WOWT building and replacing it with a multi-family building.

This section is sponsored by Midtown Crossing, an energetic, eclectic destination in the heart of Omaha. Be sure and stay connected to all the new retailer announcements, food and drink specials and the lively line-up of events in Turner Park by clicking HERE!

Eagle Mortgage Home Loan Services

Eagle Mortgage is a locally owned, full-service mortgage company helping you with Conventional, VA, FHA and USDA loans in both Nebraska & Iowa, including the Omaha-Council Bluffs area.

Whether you are buying a home or looking to refinance an existing loan, Eagle Mortgage can help you realize your dream of homeownership or help you save money by obtaining a lower monthly payment. Eagle has plenty of experience with first-time home buyers too.

Learn more HERE!

Local Business News

Local Business News Sponsored by FranNet of The Heartland:

Despite selling expanded gambling to Nebraska voters last November as a form of “property tax relief,” a casino developer is now seeking tax incentives from the City of Omaha. Warhorse Gaming Omaha, a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk Inc., is requesting $17.5 million in Tax Increment Financing to build a casino at 6303 Q Street.

The casino developer’s claim that “the return on investment would be unacceptably low due to the significant project costs,” is raising eyebrows. The Omaha Planning Board approved the TIF request Wednesday. The City Council will have the final say.

Omaha-based HDR is expanding its multimodal transportation services by acquiring WKE, based in Santa Ana, Calif. Going forward, the firm will do business as HDR | WKE. Founded in 2007, WKE’s expertise in design and construction management includes streets and highway corridors, bridges, runway structures, rail and transit facilities, and ports and harbors.

Home Instead of Omaha was chosen by the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) as the Gold winner for 2021 in the category of Non-Traditional 30+ Franchises. Considered the pinnacle of franchise achievement in Canada, the CFA Awards of Excellence in Franchising are given annually to franchise systems that have demonstrated superior franchise relations, leadership, training, and communications.

HELP Equipment will hold a ribbon cutting Tuesday, June 8th for its location at 8522 Park Drive. HELP Equipment provides low-cost medical equipment rentals and long-term care planning.

For the 12th straight month, the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index, a leading economic indicator for the nine-state region stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas, moved into vigorous growth territory. After rocketing to a record high 73.9 in April, the Business Conditions Index, which ranges between 0 and 100, slipped to still strong 72.3 for May. However, manufacturing supply managers report that labor shortages and supply bottlenecks continue to restrain growth.

Almost one of three, or 30%, of supply managers identified soaring input prices as the greatest 2021 economic challenge for their firm. More than nine out of 10 supply managers reported supply bottlenecks, or delays for May with 40% indicating that the delays were significant.\

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!”

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