The Omaha Bakery is growing again! A successful venture into the Ketogenic world has led the opening of a second store in west Omaha — near 210 th Street and Cumberland Drive in the Elkhorn area.
“Keto bakery products and keto meals have absolutely continued to soar since we introduced our keto line two years ago at our first Omaha Bakery store just north of the Nebraska FurnitureMart,” said Omaha Bakery owner Michelle Kaiser, who took a 7-year-old business from Fremont, Nebraska, to central Omaha in 2016 in a move that later resulted in a major expansion of her building space at 608 S. 72 nd Street. After experiencing the life-changing results of going on a keto diet in 2018, Kaiser developed a 50-product keto line whose distribution first spread regionally and now nationally.
“Ketogenic” is a term for a low-carbohydrate diet. The idea is to get more calories from protein and fat, and less from carbohydrates. There is a concerted effort to cut back on easily digested carbs, such as sugar, soda, pastries, and white bread. The Omaha Bakery makes keto selections that taste just as good as its other offerings.
Carrying its keto line and old favorites to west Omaha, The Omaha Bakery expanded to a 2,500-square-foot store at 725 N. 210 th Street, Suite 120, which is directly south of the Omaha Police Department’s West Precinct building on Cumberland Drive. The new Omaha Bakery location is about two blocks west of Menard’s and just east of the Union Bank and Trust Sports Complex. The Omaha Bakery is joining other businesses in a development area that is only a year old.
“When Michelle broached the subject, she asked what I thought about a second store at that location in a booming area of west Omaha, she asked, ‘Am I crazy?’” noted Joe Kenney, president of 316 Strategy Group. “I said, ‘Absolutely not!’ It is really ideal in all respects, and after reviewing the optics, it took all of two minutes to decide for sure after we looked it over. We began working out the details in the summer and quickly had all the pieces in place. It felt as if it was meant to be.”
Kenney is no stranger to building successful businesses in the Midwest and elsewhere. He engineered Kaiser’s move from Fremont to Omaha and continues to advise her on business strategy. Kenney found the 72 nd Street location for The Omaha Bakery in 2016. The new store has abundant space and plenty of parking, but it will be a pick-up only operation with no seating. Kaiser pointed out: “The public area is designed beautifully and will be an inviting venue for drop-in customers who want to browse the display cases of fresh keto and non-keto items. People will see a large selection of goodies. It will be the bakery destination in west Omaha,”
The new Omaha Bakery location is a convenient commute for Kaiser and her family, who moved from their longtime Blair home to southwest Omaha. “We love being in west Omaha. We knew a lot of our loyal customers live in west Omaha, including Gretna, Elkhorn, Valley, Waterloo, Bennington, northern Sarpy County, and eastern Saunders County. This affords our customers an easier trip to a west Omaha area that has easy access from 204 th Street and the West Dodge Expressway. Of course, those in the Fremont area who continue to follow us will have a shorter trip,” Kaiser said.
The Elkhorn-area store will be the point of dispatch for Omaha Bakery deliveries to its successful drop-off site 48 miles away in Lincoln’s Haymarket that began in the summer. All of The Omaha Bakery’s tried-and-true favorites will be available no matter where their customers want them.
“We are taking a look at streamlining our menu just a bit, concentrating on the most popular items, but both locations will have the same items available,” said Kaiser, whose Omaha Bakery
was featured on The Food Network and has a long list of local, regional, and national awards including being listed as one of the best bakeries in America.
The move to West Omaha may be the first of other developments for the award-winning Omaha Bakery. Those moves could include new distribution points such as the one in Lincoln as well as grocery stores and restaurants. The new opening also could be a precursor to stores in cities such as Papillion, Grand Island, Des Moines, and Kansas City. “A lot of communities lack a keto option, which has become a key to a diet that leads to much healthier lives for many of us,” said Kaiser, who has lost more than 130 pounds since going on a keto diet in 2018.
“We’ve researched keto before coming up with a product line, and ours is the true keto with respect to specific ingredients. We’re taking a quality keto product to those who have a tough time getting it. Our keto desserts make it possible to stay on the lifestyle. If you’re on a keto diet, you are giving up a lot of tasty food that doesn’t work with the diet. If you have a keto option for dessert, it makes it easier to stay with the diet. You’re not as likely to fall off the diet. You don’t have to have a keto dessert every day, but they help sustain the lifestyle.”
The Omaha Bakery plans to finish construction of the new space and open by October 19th.
For more information about The Omaha Bakery or menu selections, check out the website: https://theomahabakery.com/ , call (402) 991-9200 or email info@theomahabakery.com. The Omaha Bakery’s locations are 608 South 72 nd Street and 725 N. 210 th Street, Suite 120. The Omaha Bakery makes Friday afternoon deliveries to Lincoln with curbside pickup at Breezey Island Ice, 350 Canopy Street, Suite 120D, in the historic Haymarket district. Orders should be placed at least two days in advance.