Rick Ruggles
Omaha World-Herald
Old Market shop owners look ahead to a better future after setbacks, including fire, protests and a pandemic.
Omahaâs Old Market, the downtown business area known for its old brick buildings, uneven brick streets and mishmash of shops and restaurants, looks old indeed.
Vacant bays and buildings spatter the area. Since last year, the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests and violence have taken a toll. The fire at Mâs Pub five years ago left its mark, and the downtown core faces competition from Midtown, Blackstone, Aksarben and Near North Omaha.
Gone are Old Chicago and Michaelâs restaurant, as well as Tom Mangelsenâs Images of Nature gallery and Drastic Plastic records and gifts. The Passageway, the indoor collection of shops and restaurants in the Old Market, has at least three vacant bays.