Weekly Market Report

Nicole Buntgen, Contributing Writer

Duck Duck Bottle Shop, a combination bottle shop, bookstore and outdoor bar, is coming soon to the Dundee strip in the basement of 4917 Underwood Avenue next to Good Lookin’. The shop will host a handful of spirits and non-alcoholic botanicals amongst books and ideas, all on a rotating menu of cocktails that can be enjoyed in the backyard.

The Fowling Warehouse, a mash-up between football and bowling, is scheduled to open in mid-July two blocks north of 90th & Fort Street. The 50,000 sq. ft. space will have 30 lanes of “fowling,” two full bars and a dedicated meeting space. The Fowling Warehouse can accommodate individuals, families, company outings and large events.

Moon Hollow Coffee has officially opened an Omaha location at 5102 North 156th Street, near Fort Street. The coffee lounge/drive-thru’s existing location is in Blair at 1406 Washington Street.

Wahlburgers has officially opened inside Hy-Vee at 3410 North 156th Street near Cumbl and Stokin’ Goat. The fast-casual burger chain now has seven Omaha locations, all inside Hy-Vee stores, with an additional one coming soon to the Hy-Vee at 747 North 132nd Street.

Charred Burger has officially opened its Southport location at 12434 Southport Parkway near Embassy Suites in La Vista. The restaurant specializes in Wagyu beef burgers and has an existing Omaha location in Sterling Ridge at 1150 Sterling Ridge Drive near 132nd & Pacific Street.

Goodcents, a Kansas-based sub sandwich franchise, opened its second metro location at 9810 Giles Road in La Vista. The expansion is part of a multi-unit deal with current franchisees to expand in the Omaha area. The existing Omaha location is near Village Pointe at 16811 Burke Street.

Vive le Rock, the latest tenant in Westwood Plaza, recently opened at 12411 Center Road near T.J. Maxx. Described as “a rock-themed lounge offering your favorite cocktails in a rocktastic atmosphere,” the bar invites people to enjoy spirits while reminiscing about radio hits, meaningful songs and obscure gems in a comfortable, chill, and warmly lit atmosphere.

Circa 1884, a new cocktail bar in Louisville, Neb., has officially opened above the Good Times Saloon at 225 Main Street. The bar is described as “a world away from the ordinary” and can also be rented as a venue for up to 50 people.

An update on Gunderson’s Jewelers: The current Village Pointe location at 17255 Davenport Street is temporarily closed from May 20 to June 3 in preparation for its upcoming move to Heartwood Preserve. After June 3, a closing sale will take place in its temporary location at 2606 South 132nd Street, with items up to 70 percent off. The new location is set to open after August 31 in Heartwood Preserve.

Bravo! Italian Kitchen at Village Pointe closed permanently earlier this week.

Crescent Moon, an ale house in the Blackstone District, was ranked #1 Reuben in Omaha by YouTuber Joshua Weissman. The original sandwich was created at the historic Blackstone Hotel, known today as the Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel. Crescent Moon was also chosen as Omaha’s Best Reuben by the Omaha World-Herald in 2016 and Omaha Magazine in 2022.

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!

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Fig Shines Bright in the Luminarium

By Chris Corey

Fig occupies the south end of the Kiewit Luminarium on Lewis & Clark Landing downtown and has separate entrances for museum patrons and the general public. Upon stepping inside, you see a bright, spacious dining area with cascading rows of warm lights and large windows overlooking the Missouri River. It’s vivid, fresh and inviting, very much like the items on the menu.

At the helm is executive chef Gabriel Bon Sosa, who grew up cooking with his mother. As a single mom, she helped him develop a passion for food at a young age. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Massachusetts, he has been cooking professionally for the past 18 years, opening several restaurants including Fig.

“Life is too short to want to just eat one type of food,” Bon Sosa said. “Food is a form of art that you can see instant gratification from. You can evoke emotions and feeling in people with food and it’s a really cool thing to be able to do.”

A Video Tour of Omaha Construction

The latest Grow Omaha Construction Update video, produced by Brad Williams, is now available on our website or by clicking HERE.

Our construction videos are sponsored by Lueder Construction and are full of footage and information about local developments. For this week’s Big Story, we’re highlighting just some of the projects you’ll see. Here goes…

The Clove Apartments (78th & Dodge Street) – This $34 million project has four stories of apartments above one level of indoor parking. The building will have 175 units. Work is wrapping up soon.

St. Patrick Catholic Church (183rd & Big Elk Parkway) – This 56,000 sq. ft. new church building will seat 1,400 people. The parish hall can accommodate 600 people.

Costco (180th & West Maple Road) – Omaha’s third Costco is fully enclosed and ready to open later this summer.

Bankers Trust Company (192nd & West Dodge Road) – This Iowa-based bank has been in Omaha for more than 15 years but, this will be its first full-service retail location. The 2-story building should be occupied in early 2025.

Cheddar’s (north side of Village Pointe Shopping Center) – Omaha’s second Cheddar’s restaurant is under construction. It will be a free-standing building in the Scheel’s parking lot north of the movie theater and east of Firebirds Wood Fired Grill.

Broadmoor Apartments (144th & Dewey Avenue) – Just north of Millard North High School, a 5-story parking garage is under construction. Apartments will be built around the perimeter of the garage.

Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands (4101 North 17th Street in Carter Lake) – This new facility should open in August, providing before-and-after school activities. The facility will be available for camps in the summer of 2025.

Omaha’s Central Library (72nd & Dodge) – The steel superstructure for this $150 million, 4-level building is now complete. When it opens in 2026, the building will serve as the flagship location for Omaha’s library system.

Children’s Nebraska Behavioral Health & Wellness Center (85th & West Dodge Road) – The steel skeleton of this 110,000 sq. ft., 4-story building is now complete. The $110 million hospital should be open in 2026.

The Pacific Rows (94th & Pacific Street) – A new row house project is now under construction on the north side of Pacific Street. The Pacific Rows will sit on a 2-acre lot and will include 21 row houses.

Falcon Ridge Senior Residences (180th & Drexel Street) – This 4-story, 50-unit senior living facility is now fully enclosed and is located just south of Beadle Middle School.

North 120th Street Extension (north of State Street) – Grading is underway to extend 120th Street north to Rainwood Road. The Street never connected, because at some point in the past, there was a Chicago & Northwestern Railroad line in the way.

Westside High School Swimming Pool (87th & Pacific Street) – The 60-year old Westside pool facility has been demolished to make room for construction of a state-of-the-art, 8-lane pool with improved water and air filtration.

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Isaiah Ang, Contributing Writer

The City of Omaha is moving forward with its plans to update the multi-sports complex at Tranquility Park. The City Council approved the $5.7 million contract with JEO Consulting Group that outlines a list of project management services to plan, design and construct the $54 million project. The updates and expansion include up to 16 synthetic, multi-purpose fields, 11 synthetic ballfields, new concession buildings and field lighting. Completion is planned for fall 2026.

Developers are planning a mixed-use development on the northeast corner of 168th & State Street. The current agricultural land would be turned into commercial lots for several new office and retail buildings. Six buildings are shown on the initial plans totaling more than 56,000 sq. ft. of new construction.

Plans are in motion for an assisted living facility at the northwest corner of 182nd & Purple Martin Parkway in the Elkhorn area. The development would include two, 23,000 sq. ft. buildings totaling 48 residential units with 40 parking stalls.

Crews have poured main-level concrete, and steel is in place for the first floor of the Boho Flats building at 13th & Pine Street in Little Bohemia. Framing for the upper floors is expected to begin soon. The 4-story building will have 59 apartments and 5,000 sq. ft. of retail space.

The Omaha City Council approved a contract with Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, LLC to complete the city’s parks and recreation master plan by the end of 2025. The current plan was completed in 2001. The plan serves as a comprehensive tool to guide the use and development of park and recreation lands and facilities. It is part of the city’s revamp of its comprehensive Master Plan, which was adopted in 1997.

Papio-Missouri River NRD is making progress on the Omaha Beltline Trail, which will roughly follow an abandoned railroad corridor in north Omaha. It is part of a burgeoning trail system in north Omaha including the newly constructed North Omaha Trail project led by Spark CDI and the Paxton Boulevard Trail. The latter is one of the oldest trails in the city and will be renovated by the city to expand the trail width to 10 feet and fix uneven areas.

The Omaha Beltline Trail is being completed in stages. Phase I connects the North Omaha Transit Center to the intersection of 31st & Sprague Street and was completed in 2022. Phase II consists of a trailway bounding the west and north sides of Adams Park and was completed in 2023. Currently, the NRD is acquiring property for Phase III, which will begin with a new, prominent trailhead at Military Avenue & Hamilton Street and continue north to 40th & Grant Street. Construction is set to begin in 2025.

The Riverfront parks have received two recognitions. The first is an Urban Open Space finalist in the 2024 Urban Land Institute Americas Awards for Excellence. Secondly, The Congress for the New Urbanism has conferred a Merit Award for The Riverfront, recognizing its importance as a green corridor connecting downtown to the Missouri River.

The three parks that comprise The Riverfront recently underwent more than $300 million in renovations. Since the Gene Leahy Mall reopened in 2022, the downtown parks have welcomed 2 million visitors. MECA, which manages park operations and facilities, reported that based on current projections, the parks will match that number for total number of visitors in 2024.

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Hotel occupancy in Omaha is the highest it has been in 16 years, Mayor Jean Stothert said in her state of the city address earlier this week. Omaha hotels brought in record-breaking revenue of $271 million in 2023.

Berkshire Hathaway unveiled a $6.7 billion stake in insurer Chubb, ending months of suspense over its position in a financial firm, previously kept concealed in regulatory filings, according to The National Business. Berkshire, which disclosed the holding in a filing May 15, has been building the stake since last year but it hadn’t previously been reported because the Securities and Exchange Commission allowed Berkshire to keep it confidential.

Direct Design & Fabrication is the Greater Omaha Chamber’s May business of the month. The company was previously known as New Covenant Consulting, and is a full-service design-and-build, industrial product manufacturer located in Council Bluffs.

Buildertrend, an Omaha-based provider of construction management software is partnering with the Association of Professional Builders to sponsor six builder events across North America. These “Professional Builders’ Secrets” events aim to provide resources, support and insights to builders, empowering them to address challenges and drive positive change in the residential construction industry.

Great Plains State Bank will celebrate its new branch location at 17041 Lakeside Hills Plaza with a grand opening Wednesday, June 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. A Ribbon cutting with the Greater Omaha Chamber will take place at 1:30 pm.

Physicians Mutual is launching three new television commercials as part of its “joy in retirement” campaign. Each spot features an actual Physicians Mutual customer in addition to the company’s current brand spokesman, actor John Michael Higgins.

Workers in their early 20s are earning less, have more debt and see higher delinquency rates than millennials did at their age, according to Fortune. Research compared credit usage of 22-to-24-year-olds to millennials, who were 22-24 years old 10 years ago. Today’s 20-somethings are taking home $45,500, while millennials at their age were earning $51,852 when adjusting for inflation.

Airlines for America expects that carriers will transport an estimated 271 million passengers around the world this summer between June 1 and August 31, a 6.3 percent increase from last summer. The existing record is 255 million passengers.

Baby boomers may not be retiring, but younger workers can’t wait, according to Fortune. Survey after survey find that Gen Z is the most ambitious generation when it comes to early retirement; some reports suggest as much as 70 percent of the workforce’s youngest cohort would like to permanently clock out years – or even decades – early.

There are nine U.S. cities where the mean income exceeds $300,000. According to Yahoo Finance, here are the top three: 1. Los Altos, Calif. ($400,817); 2. Wellesley, Mass. ($367,801); 3. McLean, Va. ($364,093). For perspective, Omaha’s median income is $73,720. The U.S. average is $69,717.

LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

Warren Buffett says there’s one thing in particular that will help you identify a bad manager: someone who does not lead with integrity. Buffett once said, “We’ve never succeeded in making a good deal with a bad person.” – Inc

While Artificial Intelligence will someday eliminate hundreds of millions of current jobs, that day is not yet here, says Jeremy Kahn in a recent Fortune article. Many top executives are anxious about using AI across their organizations given the risk of “hallucinations,” where AI software produces sometimes dangerously inaccurate information.

What’s the average age of CEOs at major corporations? According to CNBC, it’s 54.

Speaking of CEOs, the median compensation package for the top leaders at America’s largest companies was $15.7 million in 2023, up from $14.5 the prior year.

Coffee Abstinence as Virtue Signaling – It used to be a 5 a.m. workout or a super-healthy diet. Now the latest humblebrag is abstaining from coffee. Some people take it even further, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, by boasting about how much restful sleep they get each night.

SALES

Sales expert Mike Weinberg says he commonly sees salespeople spending too much time on a couple very wrong things: 1. Worrying about outselling capacity and overloading the operations/production/delivery people; 2. Putting out customer service fires or playing “good corporate citizen” looking to “help out” other departments.

The more time you spend with your clients and prospects, the more you learn from them. “Learning from clients is fun, especially when your friends and family ask you how you know so much about some industry,” says sales author Anthony Iannarino. “Much of what you learn can accelerate your effectiveness by knowing what your competitors don’t know.”

The BragBird online sales training program gives you an edge when competing for new business. There are 40 modules, each a different topic with a video and matching workbook. It’s only $79 per month and group discounts are available. You can cancel at any time. If you’re ambitious, click HERE now!

WISDOM

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson

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Did you know the greater Omaha area experienced an increase of 9,500 net new jobs between March of 2023 and March of 2024? (Source: Greater Omaha Chamber)

Did you know that the company manufacturing Omaha’s new streetcars is based in Spain and also provided streetcars for the Kansas City and Cincinnati systems?

Did you know Omaha was the end-of-the-line back in the old telegraph days? Edward Creighton, the Western Union’s director of construction, built a telegraph line from St. Louis to Omaha in 1856. There was no communication infrastructure to the west. Creighton decided to stay in Omaha. Eventually, he personally financed and built a line west to Carson City, Nev. (Source: Howard Hamilton)

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Singles – Omaha Patio Ride on May 25th: Join Smitten Singles for a tour of downtown bars with the Omaha Patio Ride! Participants will ride around downtown on a 16-passenger bicycle, stopping at three to four bars along the way. There will be two bikes available – the Patio Ride is always a great time! This event is only for singles looking to make new friends or meet other singles!

4th Annual Patriotic Parade on May 25th: The Fourth Annual Patriotic Parade will highlight Women Athletes in addition to honoring the nation’s Gold Star Families, military veterans and first responders. More than 30 members of the Big Red One Band from Fort Riley’s 1st Infantry Division will make their first appearance, while Fort Riley’s Mounted Patrol returns for the fourth year. There will be 90-100 entries, among them military re-enactors, military vehicles, children and adults in costume representing our nation’s history, a restored Civil War wagon, horses and wagons, car clubs, motorcycles and so much more!

The Omaha Farmers Market on Saturdays: The Farmers market is back in Omaha! Join in every Saturday in the Old Market for Omaha’s best selection of farm-fresh, local produce and other goodies. The Market is open rain or shine from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., May 5 through October 13.

Night Skies at Lauritzen Gardens: Waning Gibbous Moon on May 25th: Join the Omaha Astronomical Society in viewing the night skies at Lauritzen Gardens. This program includes a tram ride out to the rose garden and a viewing of the gorgeous night sky using the Omaha Astronomical Society’s telescopes. Participants can observe faint deep-sky objects, planets, and the moon in the darkness of the garden. Pre-registration is required.

Night Market, presented by Veridian Credit Union on May 31st: As the sun sets and the warm evening breeze rolls in, Omaha’s original Night Market sets the stage for unforgettable summer nights in scenic Turner Park. Highlights include: A bustling hub of more than 40 local vendors, boutiques and makers, live music and entertainment, outdoor games and activities, including a life-size coloring book, cornhole, Giant Connect 4 and more!

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

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Mutual of Omaha has promoted Doug Wiens to senior vice president of institutional products. He oversees the company’s institutional investment and institutional annuity product lines. Wiens started at Mutual in 1999 and has a Bachelor degree from Kansas State University.

Security National Bank has appointed Scott Irwin as senior vice president, Chief Technology Officer and consumer operations officer. Before joining the bank in 2021, Irwin had 28 years of experience in technology and operations roles. He also served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force.

Attorney Jacob Craft has joined Fraser Stryker’s business and corporate team. He earned J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Creighton University. Before law school, Craft worked for Utah’s largest worker’s compensation insurance company.

Cobalt Credit Union has added Terry Zitkovich as senior vice president of lending. He has more than 14 years of experience in the financial services industry and will oversee all of Cobalt’s loan functions.

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.

“Wall Street” is a synonym for the traditional brokerage firms, their business model and their media lackies.

I have been a devoted reader of the Wall Street Journal for almost five decades, and I am watching it become more open to positions that are critical of the traditional Wall Street paradigm and provide support for the Internet Investor paradigm.

As I reported last week, The Wall Street Journal ran an article proclaiming the demise of Wall Street as the epicenter of high finance. This week – to add insult to injury – they ran an article with the headline, “Taking the Random Path to Stock Riches.”

The premise of the article was Burton Malkiel’s 50-year-old investment classic, “A Random Walk Down Wall Street.” In it, Malkiel, a Princeton economics professor, documents the hypothesis that a group of chimpanzees, throwing darts at the stock listings page, could outperform the best money managers Wall Street has to offer.

Last year, for the second time, the WSJ tested Malkiel’s hypothesis in the real world. At the beginning of 2023, they tacked a listing of all publicly traded stocks on a wall. They then had an intern throw twelve darts at the listing. (They failed to address the issue of the relative dart throwing skill of interns versus chimpanzees). Then, at the end of 2023, they compared the results of the random portfolio against the results of the main-stream, actively managed mutual funds.

A quick look at the stocks that the darts choose is quite interesting. Their portfolio violated every optimal rule that Wall Street professionals and academia profess. There is no consideration of beta or alpha or sector selection or any of the other jibber jabber that brokers claim sets them apart from mere mortals. Just plain RANDOMNESS.

The first time the WSJ ran this experiment, the random portfolio beat the pros by a respectable 22 percent. In 2023, the random portfolio bested the pros by an eyepopping 61 percent. The random group’s big winner was the Maui Land and Pineapple company, which in 2023, rose a whip ass 473 percent. One of the other 12, a computer company called Semitex, went bankrupt.

For 2023, the market, as measured by the S&P 500, gained 23.7 percent, the control group of actively managed mutual funds, after fees, gained 12.7 percent. The portfolio of 12 dart selected stock rose 78.9 percent. They also had a test group of actively managed mutual funds from 2022. Of that group, 27.6 percent beat the market in 2022. Then in 2023, only 2.5 percent of those funds repeated their once-in-a-lifetime performance.

The article concludes by stating that a cost-efficient, plain vanilla index fund can beat Wall Street’s best because it passively contains all the needles that Wall Streeters devote every hour of their waking day trying to find.

Remember, this is the Wall Street Journal talking.

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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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