OM Business closing, new one opening

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:31 pm

Chameleon in the Old Market is closing. This was the gift store between Mr. Toads and The Indian Oven. I went in to get a BDay card for a friend and heard the old owner talking with the new owners about the new business. I didn't exactly catch what the new place would be but the old owner said,"My customers will really like the kind of place you are going to do. It's all up to the Mercers now."

I'm not really sure what that means but I think this is interesting to watch. With all of the new things going on Downtown making the whole area more attractive I wonder if we'll start to see more funky places close as the buildings they are in become more valuable.

-We've seen Crawdad's close to be replaced by Stokes.
-The Meeting Place is moving, to become a bank from what I hear.
-The Antiquarium closed. I can't recall if there was anything going in right away or not.
-And now Chameleon is closing to be replaced by another business.

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:42 pm

Awwwww...I liked that store! A bank where the Meeting Place was? Hmmmm.... Can't get overly excited about that.

ricko · Post by **ricko** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:29 pm

I just hope this isn't a trend, although I fear it's inevitable. I've been wondering for years when the Old Market would become a victim of it's own success. The upside is that Omaha's core is becoming a popular place to live, with a real street life. The downside---all those quirky/unique/funky Mom&Pop (or Mom&Mom) stores that define the neighborhood won't be able to afford the rent. I saw this happen in Georgetown (D.C.) over the last 20 years. It now looks like a flippin' upscale shopping mall ( J. Crew, Bennetton, et. al., in 200 year old buildings). The rents are so high that even these stores don't turn a profit (the corporations that own these brands are willing to lose money because the street traffic gives them visibility, so basically they act as very expensive billboard). The most extreme (and funny) example I've ever seen is the Prada store in Waikiki, Honolulu. You walk into this beautiful (and large) store with a marble facade and marble everywhere, only to find about six racks of clothing and accessories in glass cases (if you've ever wanted a $200 belt, check it out), and everything is black! The only problem is, no one wears black in Hawaii!!

Sorry about that, I get carried away sometimes.

The only way to control the mall-ing of historic neighborhoods is for the neighborhood business guild/association to keep chains out. Old Town Alexandria (Virginia) and neighborhoods in San Francisco have been pretty successful at this. I have nothing against chain stores per se---I shop and eat at them, but I guess I draw the line at historic neighborhoods that define a city like Omaha, and I'd hate to see the Old Market loose it's uniqueness.

ThatGuy · Post by **ThatGuy** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:14 am

I agree, ricko. I wish somebody would print up some tee's, bumper stickers and the like with a slogan akin to Austin's "Keep Austin Weird". If the Old Market turns into a bunch of places like the Gap, Old Chicago and Armani Express...I'll no longer have any reason to go down there. I can get junk like that much closer to me at One Pacific and Village Pointe.

agibson95 · Post by **agibson95** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:26 am

ThatGuy wrote:I agree, ricko. I wish somebody would print up some tee's, bumper stickers and the like with a slogan akin to Austin's "Keep Austin Weird". If the Old Market turns into a bunch of places like the Gap, Old Chicago and Armani Express...I'll no longer have any reason to go down there. I can get junk like that much closer to me at One Pacific and Village Pointe.

All we have to do is come up with a slogan and make the t-shirts and stickers. Ill wear one. Im trying to think of a slogan, but everything I can think of sounds like a total rip off of the Austin slogan. Ill keep thinking.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:26 am

While I think the changes in the Old Market are inevitable, the one piece of comforting news is that the Mercers still control a large amount of real estate down here. They can control the flavor of the market solely by deciding who they will and won't rent to. For all they've done to foster development and Sheppard along the area over the past several decades, I have faith that they will remain true to their long held standard of "no major chain stores". Will the big chains come? Probably, but it won't be in the Old Market proper. Downtown (16th st) and North Downtown seem like logical places for some of these retailers.