Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.The Barnes & Noble bookstore at the Mall of the Bluffs will be closing at the end of the year, various people within the company said this week.
The store apparently will not be relocated within Council Bluffs, one of the individuals said. Those questioned declined to offer their names, suggesting all inquiries be sent to the company's headquarters.
Carolyn Brown, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an email, “We are closing our store in Council Bluffs. The lease is at the end of term and due to the mall’s decrease in number of key retailers over the last few years we are not going to renew.”
The Barnes & Noble store in the mall also features a coffee shop and a large movie rental area. The closing would leave just two in Omaha. One of them is in Crossroads Mall, the other near Oak View Mall.
Store to help customers mix old, new
If you're into vintage, antiques and collectibles, you will want to check out Midwest Pickers.
The new retail store at 3701 Leavenworth St. will open this month and offer "items you can't find anywhere else," said owner April Martin.
The 10,000-square-foot store will sell modern, used furniture, and vintage and collectible items that Martin finds at estate sales, auctions and yard sales.
She plans to first have sales twice a month but eventually be open every day.
"This is my passion," Martin said. "Everyone has told me I have an eye for decorating and mixing high-end furniture with antiques."
Martin said she will stage areas of her store like living rooms and kitchens, showing customers how to mix old with new.
Tour aims to inspire hikers, backpackers
If you've ever wanted to know more about hiking and backpacking, head to Canfield's on Nov. 17.
Backpacker Magazine is bringing its Get Out More Tour to the Omaha store at 8457 West Center Road at 7 p.m. The tour's team members, Randy and Sheri Propster, will host a 75-minute seminar on a variety of topics, including trip planning, choosing the right outdoor gear and apparel and safety in the outdoors.
Organizers said the tour will make its way to 68 venues in 30 states, inspiring more than 55,000 hikers and backpackers to get out and explore the outdoors.
More places to buy Downtown Gift Card
Can't decide between a gift card to M's Pub or Vivace for that special person on your gift list? Well, you don't have to.
The Omaha Downtown Improvement District has made it easier for people to buy the Downtown Gift Card, which can be redeemed at more than 90 downtown businesses such as restaurants, bars, stores, museums and hotels.
In the past, the gift card was sold only online. Now the gift cards, which are available in any denomination between $10 and $500, can be purchased at four locations: Nebraska at the Market, 1215 Leavenworth St.; Patrick's Market Grocery & Deli, 1416 Howard St.; Tannenbaum Christmas Shop, 1007 Howard St.; and Old Market Sundries, 1003 Howard St. A $1.50 processing fee is added to each card purchased.
The Downtown Gift Card can still be purchased online. Go to omahadowntown.org to buy one or see a complete list of redeeming merchants.
All About Me has new home in Old Market
All About Me has moved, but not very far.
The women's fashion boutique, formerly in the Old Market's Passageway, has moved upstairs to the former New Realities store at 419 S. 11th St. It opened Tuesday.
Owner Cindy Hoover first moved her boutique to Omaha from Council Bluffs in July in hopes of getting more business.
It was a good move, she said, tripling her sales the first month at her Old Market location. Now, she's excited to see how she does with a storefront. "I always wanted to be up here," she said. "My main thing to get more visibility."
Nebraska Star Beef brings products home
Nebraska Star Beef, a family-owned and operated vendor of all-natural angus beef, is bringing its products back home.
For the past 12 years, Nebraska Star Beef was a vendor for a natural and organic national grocery chain's stores in Arizona, Hawaii and California, said Steve Johnson, director of sales and marketing for the company. "But this past year we decided to bring our products home to the Midwest."
Nebraska Star Beef will sell its all-natural steaks, hamburgers and beef jerky at its retail store at 73940 J Road in Holdrege, Neb., and on the company's website.
Nebraska Star Beef products can also be purchased at Leon's Gourmet Grocer in Lincoln, Boogaarts and SunMart in Kearney, Grand Island Liquor Mart in Grand Island and Custom Pack in Hastings.
Ortho Care moves relocates to Omaha
Ortho Care Inc. has relocated its office and retail store to 3619 S. 149th St. in Omaha from Fremont, Neb.
Ortho Care specializes in custom foot orthotics and is the wholesaler of orthopedic braces.
"We felt the time was right for the move to a larger market so that we could better serve our customers in the greater Omaha area, including Fremont," said Thomas Reilly, president of Ortho Care, which has been in business since March 2005.
Relaxation drink sold at Nebraska locations
North Carolina-based Bebida Beverage Co., a developer and manufacturer of relaxation and energy drinks, is now selling its Koma Unwind in 2-ounce shot form at all 54 Pump and Pantry locations throughout Nebraska, including in Lincoln, Grand Island, Gretna and Kearney.
Toys R Us expands layaway options
Toys R Us has extended its layaway program beyond big-ticket items such as bikes, swing sets and video game systems. Shoppers can put almost anything, from Barbie dolls to Lego sets, on layaway.
Shoppers must make a down payment and pay a service fee and will have 90 days to pay off the purchase. There is an additional charge for canceled orders, and online shoppers can use the "Bill Me Later" option to make payments over time.
Black Friday prices, preview at Walmart
Walmart is offering Black Friday-like prices early this year with its Super Saturday event starting at 11 a.m. this Saturday at stores nationwide.
For the first time, Walmart is also offering customers an early, exclusive preview of its most highly sought-after Black Friday specials if they sign up on the chain's website or Facebook account.
This report includes material from the World-Herald News Service.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1336, leia.mendoza@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
