Between October 2024 and May 2025, three of Village Pointe's sit-down restaurant buildings closed. By this fall, a different kind of tenant had opened in two of them, and the third has a permit filed. These are national chains coming into Nebraska for the first time, and they picked 170th Street and Davenport Street as their first address in the state. For several of them, until recently the nearest location was in Kansas City, Des Moines, Sioux Falls or Minneapolis.
That's the real change at Village Pointe this fall. The center lost some familiar names, and it's now where out-of-state brands are making their Nebraska debut.
The three buildings that went dark
The closures happened over about seven months, and each one left a large standalone building empty along the center's restaurant edge.
- Johnny's Italian Steakhouse, 305 N. 170th St., announced it would close on October 31, 2024, two months before its lease ran out. It had no plans to reopen elsewhere in Omaha, Grow Omaha reported.
- Local Beer Patio & Kitchen, 17304 Davenport St., chose not to renew its lease and planned to close in early December 2024. Grow Omaha attributed the decision to rising operating costs.
- Kona Grill, 295 N. 170th St., served its last day on May 27, 2025, according to Grow Omaha's closure brief the next morning.
The Local Beer building had already changed hands once, since it was Cheeseburger in Paradise before that.
Address by address, here's what moved in
17304 Davenport Street: Culinary Dropout
The old Local Beer space sat empty for roughly 20 months. Culinary Dropout opened there on August 12, 2026. It's the 17th location for Fox Restaurant Concepts' brand and the first in Nebraska. The original opened in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2010.
Chris Corey's review for Grow Omaha called it "now the Village Pointe hot spot" and recommended getting a reservation before you go. He described a dark interior with warm lighting, black chandeliers, burgundy seating and big black-framed windows that look into the open kitchen.
Here's what to know before you go, from the restaurant's Omaha location page:
- Monday through Thursday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Friday: 11 a.m. to midnight
- Saturday: 10 a.m. to midnight
- Sunday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Weekend brunch: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Weekday happy hour: 3 to 6 p.m.
- Reservations: available online
The midnight close on Fridays and Saturdays stands out. Few sit-down kitchens around 168th and Dodge stay open that late on weekends.
305 North 170th Street: KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot
The former Johnny's building took longer to fill, and KPOT nearly ended up somewhere else. In April 2025, Grow Omaha reported that the chain had announced plans a year earlier to move into the former Granite City building at Westroads, and that deal fell through. Village Pointe got the location instead. At that point KPOT had 106 locations, and the closest ones to Omaha were in Sioux Falls, Des Moines and the Kansas City area.
KPOT opened in the week of September 7, 2026, per Grow Omaha's September 10 market report. That puts the gap since Johnny's closed at about 22 months. The concept is all-you-can-eat. You grill meats at the table or build your own hot pot with meats, seafood, vegetables and noodles. The chain started in New Jersey in 2018.
295 North 170th Street: Fogo de Chão, on permit only
The Kona Grill building is the one still in progress. Grow Omaha reported on September 24 that Fogo de Chão, the Dallas-based chain of upscale Brazilian steakhouses, plans a restaurant at 295 N. 170th St. The basis is a pending building permit filed with the City of Omaha on September 18. Fogo de Chão has 128 restaurants in 29 states and 11 countries. The closest current locations are in Kansas City and Minneapolis.
A pending permit is an early step. Nobody has announced an opening date, and a permit doesn't guarantee a restaurant. If it does open, all three buildings that closed between late 2024 and mid-2025 will have gone to national brands making their first stop in Omaha.
The smaller storefronts are following the same pattern
The pattern isn't limited to big restaurant buildings. Inside the center and on its edges, the smaller suites are filling with brands that are new to Nebraska or just arriving in Omaha.
| Tenant | Address | What it is | Status this fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drybar | 17305 Davenport St., Suite 103, next to Early Bird | Blowout salon, styling with no cuts or color | Open; its second Omaha location after Regency |
| Gorjana | 17151 Davenport St., Suite 113 | National jewelry chain, 130+ locations | Remodel permit filed; closest current store is Kansas City |
| State & Liberty | Village Pointe, suite not announced | Retailer, roughly 1,000 sq. ft. | Announced in January 2026 as its first Nebraska store |
| Frost Gelato | Village Pointe, suite not announced | Gelato shop | Listed by the center as coming soon |
| The Tox | 16909 Burke St., just south of the center | Lymphatic body-sculpting studio | Planned as its first Nebraska studio |
The Drybar details come from Grow Omaha's October 14 news brief. Gorjana's permit appeared in the September 17 market report. Grow Omaha covered State & Liberty's plans in a January 22 brief. Frost Gelato is listed on the Village Pointe directory. The Tox was reported in an October 3 brief. Most of the national brands on that list share the same backstory as the restaurants. Before this year, their closest store to Omaha was in another state.
Why the "first in Nebraska" label matters to a west Omaha household
For people who live a few minutes from 168th and Dodge, this changes how far you drive. A Brazilian steakhouse dinner, an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue night, or a Gorjana stop used to mean a trip to Kansas City, Des Moines or Minneapolis. Now they're opening, or permitted to open, at the shopping center many west Omaha families already use for errands and movies.
The timing also explains why the closures felt worse than they turned out to be. In November 2024, two large restaurant buildings went dark within weeks of each other, and a third followed in spring 2025. Nearly two years later, none of those buildings is being marketed as an ordinary vacancy. Two are open with brands that are new to the state, and the third has a permit on file.
The holiday kickoff, with the new tenants open
This will be the first holiday season with Culinary Dropout and KPOT open next to the center's traditions, so a dinner before or after the tree lighting has new options. Here's the schedule Village Pointe has posted for 2026:
| Date | Time | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Nov. 20 | 6 p.m. | Holiday character parade; Santa arrives by carriage to help light the tree | Davenport Street |
| Friday, Nov. 20 | After the lighting, until 7:30 p.m. | Photos with holiday characters | Amphitheater |
| Friday, Nov. 20 | After the lighting, until 7:30 p.m. | Photos with Santa | Movie theater |
| Friday, Nov. 20 | 7 to 9 p.m. | Free carriage rides | Pickup in front of Marcus Theatres |
| Saturday, Nov. 28 | Noon to 4 p.m. | Free carriage rides | Pickup in front of Marcus Theatres |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | Noon to 4 p.m. | Free carriage rides | Pickup in front of Marcus Theatres |
Woodhouse presents the tree lighting, and the center's event page has an RSVP link for updates. Since Grow Omaha recommends booking Culinary Dropout ahead, try to reserve a table for the evening of November 20 well before Thanksgiving week.
The carriage rides on the two Saturday afternoons line up with weekend brunch at Culinary Dropout, which runs until 3 p.m. You could do brunch, a carriage loop from Marcus Theatres and some shopping without moving the car.
I've watched the shopping centers and restaurant rows around west Omaha change hands for a lot of years, and new tenants are often a good sign of where an area is headed. If you're thinking about a home near 168th and Dodge and want to know what's opening within a short drive, Robin Philips is glad to share what she's seeing. Let's Connect.
