Village Pointe shopping center will have two new retailers in time for the holiday shopping season.
The Whistle Stop Country Store, a seasonal tenant through the holidays that offers a variety of gift and holiday décor items, opened Saturday. Chocolatier Blue, a specialty chocolate shop owned by a Nebraska native, will open this month.
The Whistle Stop Country Store at Village Pointe is a satellite location for its original shop in the Elkhorn area. It is next to the Walking Company store.
Chocolatier Blue is new to the Omaha metro area and will occupy the former Three Dog Bakery store, which relocated to a larger space at the Village Pointe in September.
Owner Chris Blue, who grew up on a farm in Nebraska, attended French pastry school in Chicago, where he learned his craft. He introduces new flavors every two to three months, and customers can purchase individual pieces or choose multiple pieces assembled into gift boxes in a variety of sizes. Chocolatier Blue also will offer 13 varieties of chocolate bark and seasonal holiday specialty chocolates that include flavors such as eggnog, gingerbread and candy cane.
The Village Pointe Chocolatier Blue store will be one of seven in the company, including Blue's flagship business in Berkeley, Calif., and a store in Lincoln.
Fareway plans third Omaha-area store
Fareway Stores Inc. announced Monday that it has property at 3070 N. 90th St. under contract for a new store.
Boone, Iowa-based Fareway plans to transform a former Pamida space and some adjacent space into a 38,000-square-foot grocery store with a Fareway bakery department. The store also would offer a full-service meat department, fresh produce and carry-out service, similar to its stores at 72nd Street and Giles Road and 168th and Harrison Streets.
"Our intent is to begin working with the appropriate parties immediately, with hope the new store will open in 2012," president and COO Frederick Greiner said in a statement. He said the store would employ about 100.
Black Friday to last 24 hours at Kohl's
Kohl's Department Stores announced Tuesday that its stores nationwide will open for Black Friday shopping at midnight on Thanksgiving night — the earliest opening in company history.
Kohl's stores will be open for 24 straight hours, from midnight to midnight, offering shoppers additional hours to pick up some of the gifts on their holiday shopping lists. Online shoppers can start saving even earlier with Early Bird specials available on Kohls.com on Thanksgiving Day.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1336, leia.mendoza@owh.com
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